AUTOBIOGRAPHY 

OF THE 

FIRST FORTY-ONE YEARS OF THE LIFE 

OF 

SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

^— rrnMLii X- ii.- 

TO WHICH IS ADDED 

A MEMOIR, 



BY 

HIS ELDEST SON, 

SYLVANUS COBB, Jr. 

1887 

% 

- BOSTON: 

TJI^nVEE,Si^lL.IST I^TIBILilSHII^GJ- HOUSE, 
No. 37 Corn HILL. 
1867. 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1867, by 
EUNICE H. COBB, 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Massachusetts. 



STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BT 
ROCKWELL & ROLLINS, 
122 Washiugton St., Boston. 



TO 

Ml iHotJer, 

TO THOSE WHO, IN T13IES PAST, HAVE 
ENJOYED THE C03JF0RTS OF 

A HOME 

BENEATH THE EOOF OF THE 

Castle xif '^mtr 

IN MEMORY OF 

HIM 

WHOSE EVEKY EARTHLY HOPE AND AIM OF LIFE 
CENTERED IN THE ONE DESIRE 
TO MAKE THAT HOME 

PEACEFUL AND HAPPY, 

THIS VOLU3IE IS 

AFFECTIONATELY BEBICATED 



BY ONE OF THE PEIVILEGED NUMBER. 

THE MEMOIRIST. 



PREFACE BY THE MEMOmiST. 



In presenting this autobiography to the public, it seems 
appropriate that I should, in this place, offer a few remarks 
touching the character of the work, and the circumstances 
under which it was written. 

The idea of writing his autobiography did not originate 
with Mr. Cobb. After he had retired from the editorial 
chair, and had rested awhile from the arduous and wearing 
labor of producing the " Commentary on the New Testa- , 
ment," his twin sons, C}tus and Darius, seeing that his 
strength was failing, and that he needed some healthful 
occupation of mind, suggested to him that he should write 
a history of his life, urging, in addition to its value as a 
biographj^, the important contribution it would afford to 
the history of Universalism in this country ; and that he 
might feel no delicacy in prosecuting the work, they pro- 
posed themselves to assume the responsibility of its publi- 
cation. The suggestion pleased him, and he forthwith set 
about the work ; not taking hold of it as a stated labor, 
but rather as a source of mental recreation. In the midst 
of the work, however, his health failed him to such an 
extent that the wielding of the pen, with the accompany- 
ing travail of thought, fatigued him ; and finally it came 
to pass that his physicians were obliged to limit his sea- 

6 



6 PREFACE BY THE MEMOLRIST. 

sons of labor ; towards the last allowing him to remain at 
his desk not more than ten or fifteen minutes at any one 
sitting. And his manuscript plainly bears evidence of the 
pain with which his hand, at times, must have dragged 
over the page. Of course Mr. Cobb had no opportunity for 
a general revision of his work, as he left it at a point 
where he fully expected to take it up again, — to take it 
up and carry it to a conclusion ; for, after that, he made 
important arrangements, looking for their consummation 
to a point almost a year beyond the day on which he put 
his pen for the last time to the manuscript of his autobiog- 
raphy. Still he must have revised somewhat, for I find 
many places where he has evidently turned back and 
made alterations and amendments, showing that his taste 
and judgment were still up to their old standard of beauty 
and strength. The autobiographer has confined himself 
mainly to facts, and those he has recorded so plainly and 
concisely that even a child may follow him with perfect 
understanding. 

To^ the Universalists of New England, and more es- 
pecially to those of Maine, this record will be invaluable. 
The story of Mr. Cobb's early life is, in fact, a history of 
Universalism in Maine. He was for some year^ the chief 
pioneer of the faith in that State, and in his life-record we 
have an account of the birth and subsequent growth of 
many of the most fiourishing of our societies in that sec- 
tion of the Master's heritage. And the same may be said 
in regard to other localities, as he performed much pioneer 
labor after he removed to Massachusetts. . 

It seems almost an interposition of Divine Providence 



PREFACE BY THE MEMOIHIST. 



7. 



that Mr. Cobb's life was siDared to bring the record down to 
the establishment of his Christian Freeman ; because 
from that date there was no difficulty in the taking up of 
the narrative by another, as the files of his weekly publi- 
cation afforded sufficient guide to one who had been closely 
associated with him in business during the greater portion 
of the time subsequent to the issue of the first number of 
the paper. Down to that point — the going forth of his 
Freeman — the good Lord held up his hand, and then the 
pen was dropped ! To be sure, Mr. Cobb had kept a 
journal from the earliest times of his ministerial labor, and 
he had fragmentary records extending back to his school- 
boy days ; but none other than himself could have filled in 
all that was necessary to the presenting of a true and 
faithful picture of his life therefrom ; or, at least, none 
other could have done it so well. Verily, the hand of God 
sustained him for a purpose ; and that purpose was accom- 
plished. 

Thus far Mr. Cobb had been battling with what he sin- 
cerely believed to be false and dangerous systems of relig- 
ion, and he had no delicacy in making a plain statement 
of what he conceived to be his successes and his victories ; 
but when he finally stepped forth into a new field, and set 
himself about the work of battling against errors that 
were winked at, if not directly upheld, by many of his own 
denomination, — when he started out upon the work of 
assisting to elevate the denomination itself, — I doubt if 
he would have done himself justice in the record. I doubt 
it, because I do not believe that he himself fully realized 
and appreciated the great work he had accomplished. As 



8 



PREFACE BY THE MEMOIRIST. 



he sat there at his desk, with his manhood's accumulated 
labors of half a century bearing the earthly tabernacle 
down to the grave, he did not know, he did not realize, 
how much he had accomplished. He had seen and gloried 
in the magnificent result to his denomination, and to his 
country, and to humanity everywhere ; but his modest}^ of 
feeling, and generous impulse of according to others their 
full due, prevented him from comprehending how much he 
had done towards the grand consummation. And so, since 
in the providence of God, it was not permitted to him to 
finish the record, does it not appear that he left it in just 
the right place ? 

And now, dear reader, the autobiography is before you ; 
and be sure, as you read it, that you are reading the 
record of one whose soul was fraught with desire for the 
good of his fellows, and whose highest hope in giving that 
record to the world was, that benefit might result from its 
perusal. And I do not think his hope will be without its 
fruition ; for of all the lessons of good that are given men 
to study, none can be studied with more profit than the 
life-lessons which are borne in the record of a truly great 
and good man. And such, in all faith and candor, I 
believe our autobiographer to have been. 

SYLVANUS COBB, Jr. 

Norway, Jan. 18, 1867. 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



HIS ANCESTRY. 



I AM able to trace my lineal descent from Elder Henry- 
Cobb as my immigrant ancestor. He is said to have come 
over from England to the "Old Colony" in America, by 
the second trip of the Mayflower, which was but a very 
few years after her first voyage, with the Pilgrim Fathers, 
in 1620. Farmer's " Genealogical Register of the First 
Settlers of New England" says of him, "He came to 
Plymouth as early as 1629 ; was at Scituate in 1633 ; re- 
moved to Barnstable, where he died in 1679, leaving seven 
sons and four daughters. His descendants, says the 
antiquary of Plymouth (2 Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc, IV. 247,) 
are as numerous, figuratively, " as the sands on the sea- 
shore." Nineteen of the name had graduated at the New 
England colleges in 1828. 

From a series of chapters on the " History of Barn- 
stable," by Amos Otis, Esq., published in the " Barnstable 
Patriot" in 1862, I extract the following statistics of the 
Cobb genealogy, which appear to have been collected 
with much painstaking research : — 

9 



10 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ELDER HENRY COBB. 

Three of the name of Cobb came to New England, and if 
John of Plymouth and John of Taunton are not the same, fom*. 
The Cobbs of Georgia are a different family, though perhaps 
remotely related. Thomas R. R. Cobb, a brother of the rebel 
Gen. Howell Cobb, in a letter dated at Athens, Ga., April 7, 1857, 
says : "I have but little information as to my remote ancestry. 
The tradition, as I have received it from my father, is, that seven 
brothers originally emigrated from England. Four settled in 
Virginia, three went to Massachusetts. Their names or subse- 
quent history I never learned. I have heard my father say that 
his grandfather would frequently relate that the brother from 
whom he was descended, bought his wife from an emigrant 
ship for seven hundred pounds of tobacco. My father, grand- 
father, and great-grandfather were all named John." 

Traditions are usually worthless. Three of the name came 
to Massachusetts, as stated in the letter ; but there is no evi- 
dence that they were brothers. The presumption is they were 
not. Mr. Pratt, in his *' History of Eastham," page 27, gives an 
account of the origin of the Cobb families, founded on a tradi- 
tion which is wholly unreliable. He says four of the name, 
sons of Sylvanus, came over, namely, Jonathan, from Harwich, 
England, settled in Eastham ; Eleazer, in Hingham ; Sylvanus, 
north of Boston ; and Benjamin, whose son Isaac was Port Ad- 
miral of Yarmouth, England. Jonathan was a descendant of 
Henry, and born in Barnstable. Respecting Benjamin, the doc- 
ument quoted by Mr. Pratt says, he settled near Rhode Island, 
which is very doubtful. Descendants of Augustine were in that 
vicinity. The Eleazer and Sylvanus he names were jDrobably 
both descendants of Henry. No Eleazer settled in Hingham. 
The earliest of the name in that town was Richard, who is 
calhul of Boston. He had a son Thomas, born 28th March, 
1693, probably the one of that name who settled in Eastham, 
and married Mary Freeman, before 1719. A Thomas Cobb, 
Sen'r, died in Hingham Jan. 4, 1707-8. 

Edward Cobb was of Taunton, in 1657, married at Plymouth, 
28 Nov., 1660, Mary Haskins, and died 1675, leaving a son 
Edward. His widow married Samuel Philips. 



UTS ANCESTRY. 



11 



Augustine Cobb was of Taunton in 1670, and had Elizabeth, 
born 10 Feb., 1771; Morgan, 29 Dec, 1673; Samuel, 9 Xov., 
1675 ; Bethia, 5 April, 1678 ; Mercy, 12 Aug., 1680 ; and Abigail, 
1684. Gen. David Cobb, one of the aids of Washington in the 
army of the revolution, is a descendant from Augustine. 

John Cobb of Taunton from 1653 to 1777, Mr, Baylies says, 
came from Plymouth ; if so, he was a son of Henry of Barn- 
stable. A John Cobb, who appears to have been a resident in 
Taunton, administered on the estate of his brother Gershom, 
who was killed at Swanzey by the Indians, June 21, 1675. Mr. 
Savage thinks there were two John Cobbs ; but I prefer the 
authority of Mr. Baylies. There is only one entry on the 
records that favors the supposition that there were two John 
Cobbs, and that, after careful examination, I think is an error 
of the town clerk of Taunton. 

Elder Henry Cobb married in 1631, Patience, daughter of 
Dea. James Hurst, of Plymouth. She was *'buryed May 4, 
1648, the first that was buryed in our new burying-place by our 
meeting-house." (Lothrop's Church Rec.) He was married to 
his second wife, Sarah, daughter of Samuel Hinckley, by Mr. 
Prince, Dec. 12, 1649. He died in 1679, and his wife Sarah sur- 
vived him. 

In his will, dated April 4, 1678, proved June 3, 1679, and in 
the codicil thereto, dated February 28, 1678, he gives his gi*eat 
lot of land in Barnstable to his son James, the latter paying 
Elder Cobb's son John £5 for his interest therein. Names his 
sons John, James, Gershom, and Eleazer, to whom he had here- 
tofore given half his lands at Suckinesset, — gave his "new 
dwelling-house " * and all the rest of his uplands and meadows 
to his wife Sarah. In his will he gave his dwelling-house, after 
the decease of his wife, to his son Samuel ; but in the codicil, to 

*"His new dwelling-house." I am inclined to the opinion that Elder Cobb 
sold his stone house to JSTathaniel Bacon, in his lifetime, and that the house to 
which he refers was on his " great lot," and that it was afterwards owned b)^ son 
James and grandson Gershom. In 1823, Mr. Josiah Childs, a descendant in the 
female line, pointed out a post to me in his fence, and said, " Fifty years ago I 
mortised that post from a timber taken from the house of the first Gershom 
Cobb," and said that from information he had obtained from his ancestors the 
house was over one hundred years old, which consequently was built in the life- 
time of the Elder. That house stood on his " great lot," near the ancient pear- 
trees now standing. (See account of third Gershom Hall.) 



12 



BEr. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



his son Henry. He also names his son Jonathan, and daugh- 
ters Mary, Hannah, Patience, and Sarah. 

Children born in Plymouth. 

I. John, born 7 June, 1632. Removed from Barnstable to 
Plymouth, and from thence, according to Mr, Baylies, to Taun- 
ton, and returned again to Plymouth about the year 1678. He 
married twice; first, 28 Aug., 1658, Martha Nelson, of P.; 
second, June 13, 1676, Jane Woodward, of Taunton. His 
children were John, born 24 June, 1662, in P., died young; 
Samuel, Israel, and Elizabeth, the dates of whose births are not 
given, probably born in Taunton; John, born in Taunton 31 
March, 1678, according to the return, probably 1677 ; Elisha, in 
Plymouth, 3 April, 1678 ; and James, 20 July, 1682. Elisha, of 
this family, probably settled in Wellfleet, and had Col. Elisha 
and Thomas. Col. Elisha had five sons, and has descendants in 
the lower towns of this county. A Thomas Cobb married Mary 
Freeman of Eastham before 1719, and probably was not the 
Thomas above named. 

n. James, born 14 Jan., 1634. (See account of him and his 
family below.) 

Born in Scituate. 

m. Mary, 24 March, 1637. She married, 15 Oct., 1657, Jon- 
athan Dunham, then of Barnstable, and was his second wife. His 
first wife was Marj^ daughter of Philip Delano, whom he mar- 
ried 29 Nov., 1655. He removed to Middleboro', was some time 
minister to the Indians at the islands, but was in 1694 ordained 
at Edgartown. 

IV. Hannah, 5 Oct., 1639, married, 9 May, 1661, Edward 
Lewis. She died Jan. 17, 1729-30, aged 90 years, 3 months, 12 
days. 

Born in Barnstable. 

V. Patience, baptized 13 March, 1641-2; married Robert 
Parker Aug., 1667, his second wife. After his death in 1684, 
she probably married Dea. William Crocker. 

VI. Gershom, born 10, baptized 12 Jan., 1644-5. He removed 
to Middleboro', where he was constable in 1671, and on the 
grand jury in 1674. He was buried at Swanzey 24 June, 1675, 



HIS ANCESTRY. 



13 



having, with eight others, been killed that day by the forces of 
Philip. His brother John administered on his estate, which was 
divided in equal proportions to the children of Mr. Henry Cobb 
of Barnstable, only John, the older son, to have a double por- 
tion. 

Vn. Eleazer, born 30 March, 1648. He was admitted a 
townsman Dec, 1678, when he was 24, indicating that he was 
then unmarried. He was of Barnstable in 1703, and as he had 
only twelve and a half shares in the common lands, the pre- 
sumption is that he was not then a householder. It does not 
appear that he had a family. His death is not recorded, and the 
settlement of his estate is not entered on the probate records. 
It may be, but it is not probable, that he was the Eleazer whom 
Mr. Pratt says settled in Hingham. 

VIII. Mehetabel, born 1 Sept., 1651, died 8 March, 1652. 

IX. Samuel, born Oct. 12, 1654. (See account below.) 

X. Sarah, born 15 Jan., 1658, died Jan. 25, 1658. 

XI. Jonathan, born 10 April, 1660. (See account below.) 

XII. Sarah, born 10 March, 1662-3, married, 27 Dec, 1686, 
Dea. Samuel Chipman of Barnstable. She had ten children. Her 
sons Thomas, Samuel, John, Seth, and Barnabas, were men who 
held a high rank in society. The late Chief Justice Nathaniel 
Chipman, LL.D., was her grandson. She died Jan. 8, 1742-3, 
aged nearly 80. 

XIII. Henry, born 3 Sept., 1665, inherited the paternal man- 
sion. He was married by Justice Thacher, 10 April, 1690, to - 
Lois Hallet. Oct. 9, 1715, he was dismissed from the Barn- 
stable, to the church in Stojiington, Conn. His children born 
in Barnstable were Gideon, 11 April, 1691 ; Eunice, 18 Sept., 
1693 ; Lois, 2 March, 1696 ; and Nathan, baptized June 1, 1700. 
Margaret, the wife of Gideon, of this family, was admitted July 
31, 1726, to the church in Hampton, Conn. He afterwards 
removed from H. 

XIY. Mehetabel, born 15 Feb., 1667. 
XV. Experience, born 11 Sept., 1671. 

Neither of these two daughters being mentioned in the will 
of their father, the presumption is they died young. 

Sergeant James Cobb, son of Elder Henry Cobb, born in 
Plymouth, Jan. 14, 1634, resided in Barnstable. He married, 
26 Dec, 1663, Sarah, daughter of George Lewis, Sen'r. He 
2 



14 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D,B. 



died in 1695, aged 61. He left no will. His estate was settled 
Feb. 1, 1695-6, and all his eleven children are named. His 
widow Sarah married, 23 ISTov., 1698, Jonathan Sparrow of 
Eastham. 

Children born in Barnstable. 

I. Mary, 24 Nov., 1664, married, May 31, 1687, Capt. Caleb 
Williamson of Barnstable. The family removed to Hartford 
after 1700, where she died in 1737, aged 73. 

II. Sarah, 26 Jan., 1666, married, 27 Dec, 1686, Benjamin 
Hinckley of Barnstable. She had ten children, the first five 
all dying young. 

III. Patience, 12 Jan., 1668, married, 1694, James Coleman, 
and had eight children. She married, 10 Sept., 1715, Thomas 
Lombard of Barnstable. She died March 30, 1747, aged 79 
years. Her second husband was 95 at his death. May 31, 1761. 

IV. Hannah, 28 March, 1671, married Joseph Davis, March, 
1695, and died May 3, 1739, aged 68. She left a family of eight 
children. 

V. James, 8 July, 1673. (See account below.) 

VI. Gershom, 4 Aug., 1675. (See account below.) 

VII. John, 20 Dec, 1677. Mr. John Cobb, as he is called on 
the records, married, 25 Dec, 1707, Hannah Lothrop. He 
owned the house now the residence of Mr. David Bursley, and 
his son Ephraim resided there within the memory of persons 
now living. His children were Ephraim, born 5 Dec, 1708. He 
married Margaret Gardner of Yarmouth, Jan. 7, 1729-30. He 
had also John, born 1 July, 1711, died March 1, 1713, and John 
again, born Oct. 2, 1719, who died May 25, 1736. Mr. John 
Cobb died Aug. 24, 1754, aged 77 years, and his wife Hannah 
April 3, 1747, aged 66 years. 

VIII. Elizabeth, 6 Oct., 1680. 

IX. Martha, 6 Feb., 1682. 

X. Mercy, 9 April, 1685. 

XI. Thankful, 10 June, 1687. 

The four daughters last named had shares in the estate of 
their father at the settlement made in 1696. Their mother mar- 
ried, in 1698, Jonathan Sparrow, Esq., of Eastham, and these 
daughters probably removed to that town with her. Mercy 
was, May 24, 1701, a witness to the will of Miriam' Wing of 



SIS ANCESTRY. 



15 



Harwich. At the proof of the will, Jan. 8, 1702-3, she is called 
*' now Mercy Sparrow." 

I have a copy of an original genealogical record, fur- 
nished me by my uncle Levi Cobb, my father's youngest 
brother, of Middleboro', Mass., who was by nature a phi- 
losopher, and had a rare taste for collecting biographical 
and historical facts. His record commences thus : — 

1. Record of the family of James Cobb, one of the first set- 
tlers of Barnstable on Cape Cod, Mass. He married a Lewis, 
who, after his decease, married a Capt. Sparrow, of Eastham ; 
and after his decease returned to Barnstable to her son, James 
Cobb, 2d, and died 1734, in the 93d year of her age. 

This description identifies the James 1st, of my uncle 
Levi's record, with the Sergeant James Cobb of Mr. Otis's 
" History of Barnstable" above quoted, who was a son of 
the immigrant Henry Cobb. 

My uncle's record continues : — 

2. The family of James Cobb, 2d, son of James Cobb, 1st. 
Eis children. — 1st. James, born in the town of Barnstable, July 
1673, and died in Dec, 1756, aged 84 years. There were eight 
other children in this family : but it is sufficient that I give the 
name, and time, and term of life, of this who is in the direct 
line of my progenitors. 

3. Record of James Cobb, 3d, son of James Cobb, 2d. He 
married Elizabeth Hallett. He had seven children, one of 
whom was Sylvanus, born Oct., 1701, and died Sept. 30, 1756. 

4. Record of Sylvanus Cobb, son of James, 3d. He was 
married to Mercia Baker, by the Rev. Joseph Green, Nov. 7, 
1728. He had seven children, whose names were Mercia, Eben- 
ezer, Sylvanus, Binney, Rebecca, Thankful, Lydia. 

Ebenezer is in the direct line of my progenitors, being 
my father's father. 

5. The family of Ebenezer Cobb, who was the son of Sylva- 



16 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



nus Cobb, who was tlie son of James Cobb, 3d. James, born 
Jan. 12, 1756; Ebenezer, born March 17, 1759; Rebecca, born 
June 5, 1761; Isaiah, born Feb. 11, 1764; Levi, born Feb. 13, 
1767 ; Lydia, born Dec. 14, 1769 ; Mary, born March 18, 1772 ; 
Anna, born Feb. 28, 1777. 

Of these Ebenezer is my father. 

6. The family of Ebenezer Cobb, who was the son of Eben- 
ezer, who was the son of Sylvanus, who was the son of the 
third James. He married Elizabeth Cobb, daughter of Samuel 
Cobb, of Carver, Mass. She is in another line of descent from 
the same Elder Henry, who is my father's immigrant ancestor. 

So, then, I am all Cobb, of the old pilgrim stock ; the 
seventh generation from the immigrant Henry, by the line 
of descent embracing my father, and the sixth generation 
from the same on the side of my mother. 

7. Genealogical record of the family of Ebenezer Cobb, 
son of Ebenezer and Elizabeth Cobb, daughter of Samuel. 
Elizabeth, born Feb. 19, 1784; Susanna, born March 22, 1788; 
Ebenezer, born April 13, 1790; Lucy, born Feb. 28, 1792; 
Cyrus, born June 20, 1793 ; Churchill, born Dec. 28, 1795 ; Syl- 
vanus, born July 17, 1798 ; Samuel, born Aug. 18, 1802. 

Of this family, my brother Ebenezer died Nov. 25, 1820, 
aged 30 years, 5 months ; my father. May 9, 1826, aged 
67 ; Lucy, March 3, 1828, aged 36, leaving a small family 
by the name of Putnam ; my mother, June 22, 1843, aged 
83 ; Cyrus, by a fall from a beam in his barn, was instantly 
killed, Nov. 18, 1847, aged 54 ; Churchill, also, came to 
his death by falling from the mow upon his barn floor, 
March 7, 1857, aged 62. They both left small families. 

The homestead, which had been considerably enlarged 
and improved by my brother Cyrus's energies and thrift, 
was, on his decease, left to his widow, two sons, Cyrus and 
Samuel, and two daughters, Lydia and Eliza. Lydia and 



HIS ANCESTBY. 



17 



Samuel died soon after; and the widow, in 1865. Cyrus, 
being of a fragile constitution, disposed of his share of 
the farm, so that the venerable place has gone out of the 
family name. 

At the writing of this, my sister Elizabeth, widow of 
Samuel Putnam, is living in Rumford, Me., in good health, 
82 years of age, having been the mother of ten children, 
most of whom are living. My sister Susanna is living in 
Oxford, Me., with her husband, Daniel Smith, aged 79. 
She has had no children. My youngest brother is also 
living in Norway, Me., 62 years of age, in widowerhood, 
having buried his wife and three daughters, the eldest of 
whom was about 21, and the youngest 14. He has one 
son living, a worthy young man, with a small family, with 
whom he boards most of the time, whose name is Sylvanus 
Wait Cobb. 

MY MARRIAGE. 

September 10, 1822, 1 gave my hand and heart in mar- 
riage to Miss Eunice Hale Wait, of Hallowell, Me. The 
marriage was solemnized by Rev. Eliphalet Gillett, pastor 
of the Trinitarian Congregational Church in Hallowell. 
The ceremony was performed in the morning, and I forth- 
with took my lawful wife into my carriage, and set off for 
the General Convention of Universalists for the New Eng- 
land States and others, to be held in Warner, N. H., on 
the 18th and 19th of the same month. For a continuation 
of this historical narrative, see the account of my settle- 
ment in Waterville. 
2* 



18 



JiEV. SYLFAyUS COBB, D,I). 



RECORD OF THE FAMILY OF SYLVANDS COBB AND EUNICE H. 
COBB. 

1. Sylvanus, born in Waterville, Me., June 5, 1823. 

2. Samuel Tucker, June 11, 1825. 

3. Eunice Hale, April 15, 1827. 

4. Ebenezer, in Maiden, Mass., Jan. 17, 1829. 

5. George Winslow, March 31, 1831. 

6. Sarah Wait, Dec. 1, 1832. She died in East Boston, 
of consumption, Jan. 17, 1853, aged 20 3'ears, 1 month, 
and 17 days. She passed away in the sweet serenity of 
Christian hope ; and the event hardly seemed like death. 
It seemed a development of heavenly life. 

7 and 8. Cyrus and Darius, twins, born in Maiden, Aug. 
6, 1834. 

9. James Arthur, in East Boston, Dec. 22, 1842. He 
came to us, a beautiful and perfect child, as an unexpected 
gift from Heaven. He was remarkable, as he advanced, for 
common sense, scholarship, and the highest virtues, includ- 
ing those of Christian faith and piety. When he had passed 
his eighth year there was discovered a degree of enlarge- 
ment of the heart. The disease grew upon him, and, after 
considerable suffering with wonderful patience, and even 
cheerfulness of heavenly hope, he passed sweetly away in 
the morning of Feb. 24, 1852, aged 9 years and 2 months. 
An interesting memoir of him, written by his mother, was 
I)ublished in book form soon after his departure. 

Of my children, I will place on record here the following 
additional memoranda : — 

Sylvanus married Mary Jane Head, of Waltham, Mass., 
June 29, 1845. They have, at this writing, 1866, two 
children, — Mary Hale, who is married to Oscar R. Ford, 
and Ella, about 14 years of age. 



mS ANCESTRY, 



19 



Samuel Tucker, who was named for and by Commodore 
Samuel Tucker, of revolutionary memory, whose latter 
years were spent in Bristol, Me., where our acquaintance 
with him was intimate, married Sophronia R. Tisdale, Oct. 
16, 1847. They have three children, Lucy Holmes, Sam- 
uel Tucker, and Elizabeth Hale. They lost an infant 
daughter in 1865. 

Ebenezer married Mary Jane Booth, of Philadelphia, in 
May, 1853. They have two sons, Arthur and Clarence. 

George Winslow, who was named by Capt. George 
Winslow, a dear friend of ours, of Maiden, Mass., mar- 
ried Almeda Hall of East Boston, May 1, 1856, by whom 
he has two children, Albert Winslow and Margaret White. 
They lost a daughter in infancy. He served as a volunteer 
in the army of the United States during the last year of 
the great southern slaveholders' rebellion ; and soon after 
his return, in the autumn of 1865, his wife died of con- 
sumption, having been very feeble several years. He 
enlisted into the army as a private, and rose shortly to the 
rank of corporal, then to that of sergeant, and then to 
sergeant-major. He had severe service. 

Eunice Hale married Lafayette Culver, July 4, 1849, 
and they have ever continued, thus far, 1865, members of 
our household. Mr. Culver, also, served, for more than 
two years, in the army of the countr}^ Enlisting as a 
private, he was soon promoted to a lieutenancy, and then 
to the rank of quartermaster. A greater part of the time 
he was on Gen. Mott's staff, of the old 3d Corps, Army of 
the Potomac. He was engaged in severe conflicts of arms, 
but came out unharmed. 

Cyrus and Darius, the twins, married sisters, the former 
Emma, and the latter Laura Lillie. They were married at 
the same time, Jan. 1, 1866, in the Unitarian Church in 



20 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



East Boston, by Rev. W. H. Cudworth, the pastor, assisted 
by their father. They, too, rendered military service to 
the country in the great civil war of 1861 to 1865. They 
led the family in this line of the citizens' duty. They 
enlisted into the Massachusetts 44th Regiment, on a nine- 
months' term, in August, 1863. Most of their term was 
spent in Newbern, N. C. They were at Little Washing- 
ton when it was subjected to a seventeen days' siege by 
the enemy, and the access of Gen. Foster's main army was 
cut off for that time ; and they participated in several skir- 
mishes. But they received no injury. So all the soldier 
members of this family, though subjected to hard service 
and engaged in more or less severe conflicts of arms, re- 
turned home, after full service, safe and sound. 

In respect to military service in suppression of the great 
pro-slavery rebellion, Sylvanus, the elder brother, whose 
residence was in Norway, Me., had also a hand in it in 
another sphere. Being captain of the Oxford County 
Home Guards, a volunteer company organized to act, if 
necessary, in defence of that State against invasion, he 
was ordered by the Government, in April, 1864, to station 
his company, for a season, in Fort McClary, Kitter}^, Me., 
where they were mustered into the United States' service. 
Here, though he was not confronted by the enemy, he had a 
taste of military life and of the responsibilities of military 
command. 

OUR IMMIGRANT PROGENITOR AN "INDEPENDENT." 

It will be seen by the foregoing that I trace my descent, 
on my father's side, by a direct and unbroken line, through 
reliable genealogical registrations, from the immigrant 
Elder Henry Cobb. And it appears that this revered 
ancestor was a genuine son of liberty, and member of the 



HIS ANCESTRY. 



21 



first Independent Congregational Church b}^ that name in 
the United States, or in the world. The following account 
of the Church and pastor to which he belonged, is in the 
Massachusetts Historical Society's Records : — 

Rev. John Lothrop was first minister of Barnstable, Cape 
Cod. The Chm-ch at Scituate being in a broken condition, the 
Rev. John Lothrop of that place removed, with part of the 
Church (among whom was Henry Cobb), to Barnstable, in Oct., 
1639, the same year the town was gi*anted by the old colony. 
It appears from the records, which have been preserved, that all 
the south side of the town was amicably purchased of Wianno 
and several other sachems, about 1650. The West Barnstable 
Church is the first Independent Congregational Church of that 
name in the world. It was organized in 1616, in England, in 
the county of Kent, principally through the instrumentality of 
Rev. Henry Jacob, who was chosen and constituted its first 
pastor. The foundation of the church was laid in the following 
manner : After solemn fasting and praj'er, each made open 
confession of his faith in Jesus Christ ; and then, standing up 
together they joined hands, and solemnly covenanted with each 
other, in the presence of Almighty God, to walk together in all 
his ways, ordinances, &c. 

On account of the violence of the persecution with which 
this Church was assailed, their pastor continued with them only 
eight years, and then fled to Virginia, in this country, where he 
soon after died. 

The Church then chose, as their second pastor. Rev. John 
Lothrop, from whom descended most of the numerous families 
of this name scattered through our countiy. In 1632, Mr. Lo- 
throp and the little band to whom he ministered, when assem- 
bled for worship in a private building, were surprised by their 
persecutors, and only eighteen of their number escaped, while 
forty-two were apprehended and cast into j)rison. After being 
confined for two years, all were released upon bail, excepting 
Mr. Lothrop, for whom no favor could be obtained. In the 
mean time his wife died, and his children were left in such needy 
and distressed circumstances, at length Mr. L., on condition of 
leaving the country, obtained his freedom. In 1634, with thir- 



22 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ty-four of Ms church and congregation, — all he could collect, — 
he came to New England, and settled in Scituate. At that time 
the Churches at Plymouth, Duxbury, and Marshfield, were all that 
existed in this country. In 1639, with a majority of his people 
and twenty-two male members of his church, he removed to 
Barnstable, and commenced its settlement. The first sermon 
was preached on a large rock, which may now be seen lying by 
the side of the road between East and West Parishes. 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



23 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



The subject of these sketches was born in Norway, 
Me., July 17, 1798. My parents, Ebenezer and Eliza- 
beth Cobb, of whom mention is made in the conclusion 
of the preceding chapter, moved from Middleboro', Mass., 
to Norway, Me., which was then a part of Massachusetts, 
in the autumn of 1797. Middleboro' is thirty-five miles 
south, and Norway one hundred and fifty miles north-east 
of Boston. Their medium of convej^ance was an ox-wagon, 
drawn by a 3'oke of oxen, by which they shipped whatever 
of their household stufi" they moved, and their six children, 
— Elizabeth, Ebenezer, Susanna, Cyrus, Lucy, and Church- 
ill. The roads much of the way were rough, and they were 
sixteen da3's on the passage, arriving in Norway, that part 
then called Rustfield, on the 8th of September. The 
township had been but a little while open to settlement, 
and was mostly in a wilderness state. My father visited 
the place in the summer of the preceding year, selected 
him a lot, and made a small opening upon it by felling the 
trees. In the spring of this year he went down and burned 
and cleared the opening, and planted it with corn and 
potatoes ; so that now, on moving hither with his family in 
the fall, he found in his field corn and potatoes ready for 
family use. He rented for his family a part of the small 
house of Mr. Zebedee Perr^^ on an adjoining lot, which he 



24 EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.B. 

occupied while building a house on his own. It was in 
Mr. Perry's house that I was born the next July. In the 
succeeding autumn the new house was so far advanced as 
to be suitable to receive the family, and we occupied it 
from four to five years. Aug. 18, 1802, when I was four 
years and one month old, I greeted a baby-brother, who 
received, and has ever borne, the name of Samuel ; my 
parents' last-born, a great blessing to their later j^ears, and 
a pride and joy to the household alwa^^s. He is, at this 
writing (1864), my only surviving brother, — the three be- 
fore named, who were born in Middleboro', having passed 
away. 

About this time my father saw that the lot he had pur- 
chased and built upon was not large enough for the devel- 
opment of his rising family of sons, and he sold it, and 
purchased a larger one about half a mile south on the 
same road, having on it a small clearing ; and forthwith he 
put upon it a small house and barn. I was about five 
years, old when we moved upon the new place, and can 
remember nothing in connection with the removal, except 
the rendering of a little assistance to m}^ mother in carry- 
ing my baby-brother up " Great Hill." (The distance 
from the foot to the summit of the hill was not more than 
two hundred feet ; but it was called " Great Hill" because 
it was the steepest one in the neighborhood.) Nor have I 
any recollection of anything in my experience of the four 
years of infantile life on that first farm, except the event of 
a slip-down on the ice with an axe on my shoulder, which 
inflicted a severe cut upon the right temple, which my 
mother and sisters have since told me was so serious a 
wound, and caused so profuse a flow of blood, that fears 
were entertained of the loss of life. But the scar, at this 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



25 



day, is much more distinct than my recollection of the 
event. 

The new farm was variegated with hills, ridges, and 
dales, and meadow-brooks and gushing side-hill springs. 
The regular routine of country life, in scenes like these, 
presented but few incidents calculated to make a strong 
impression on the mind of childhood. Yet there were pro- 
gressive events which produced in me lively excitement of 
feelings. The sight of the tall trees falling before the 
woodman's axe, and the consequent enlargement of the 
clearing ; the burning of the felled trees when dried ; the 
sheep washing and shearing ; haying, reaping, and the 
huskings, were all exciting scenes to the boys ; and my 
memory of them extends back to very early days. 

I very early became expert in riding on horseback, and 
had devolved upon me the business of navigating the 
cereals to mill, a distance of about two and a half miles. 
The roads were new and rough, bridged over swampy 
grounds by logs rolled together, constituting what were 
called gridiron bridges; and no pleasure carriages, nor 
even horse-wagons, came into use for some time. The 
" going to mill," except in the sleighing season, was done 
on horseback. My father, or an elder brother, would 
place a bag of Indian corn, another of rye, and another of 
wheat, across the saddle, and I would mount a-top of the 
whole, and navigate the winding way up to the mill door, 
where I was wont to be promptly greeted by the faithful 
miller, Samuel Ames, who entered that first grist-mill in 
town on its completion in October, 1789, and ground the 
first grist in it, and tended it forty-five years. He would 
discharge my cargo, and replace it for my return voyage 
when all was ground. As my younger brother was four 
years my junior, and the older ones were capable of per- 
3 



26 



llEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



forming better labor on the farm, the milling and general 
choring business devolved upon me for several years. 

The first school-teacher, of whom I have any recollection, 
was Jonathan Woodman. Many yestrs afterwards I had 
opportunity to know him familiarly as a good and noble 
hearted man. But my first impressions of him are those 
which he imparted with the palms of his hands, presuming 
thus to beat knowledge into my cranium. I was reading 
and spelling in words of one and two syllables, and he 
would frequently box my ears for mistakes. This practice 
on his part induced in me the habit of dodging when I 
feared I was wrong. " Ah," he would exclaim, in such 
cases, " I know what you dodged for, you knew what was 
coming." That philosophy of teaching is not much in 
vogue now. However, Master Woodman lived to be an 
occasional respectful listener to the public discoursings of 
him whose boyhood he essayed to educate with the aid 
of cuffs. 

Our school district, situated in the south-west part of 
the town, was large. It was settled principally by citizens 
of great moral worth, who reared large families. And as 
the town was always provident of its schools, and the 
school-money was apportioned to districts according to the 
numbers of scholars, ours drew a good share, and had long 
winter schools. There was but little attention given, how- 
ever, in those days, and in that backwoods region, to any 
other branches of learning except reading, writing, and 
arithmetic. But now and then one advanced to the study 
of grammar. In the winter of 1811, when I was in the 
thirteenth year of my age, listening to the recitations of a 
small class in grammar, I became inspired with the purpose 
to enter upon that study. Upon entering into the presence 
of my parents on my return from school, one evening, I 



MIS BIETR AND EARLY DATS. 



27 



said, "Father, I want a grammar-book. I am going to 
study grammar." " Poh ! " was the response of the con- 
siderate parent, " what good '11 that do you? If you might 
ever be able to teach school, it would be of use to study 
grammar. But I don't suppose you think of that." 
" Well, I want to study grammar," was the emphatic 
reply. And the essential thing was furnished. The ele- 
mentary book for beginners in that study, then and there 
in use, was Bingham's " Young Ladies' Accidence." I 
rushed into the work of committing to memory the defini- 
tions of parts of speech and the rules of syntax, and apply- 
ing the principles by the exercise of parsing. But the 
school-term was far spent when I commenced, and the rudi- 
ments were not thoroughly committed, nor was their prac- 
tical application well understood. 

But being determined to master this science the next 
winter, I bore the little grammar-book in my pocket when 
about the labors of the field the next fall, and while driv- 
ing the oxen at ploughing, and in teaming up firewood for 
the winter, I committed it all through, becoming as famil- 
iar with every word as with the alphabet. With this 
acquisition I went into the succeeding school-term, and 
found that the mystery of parsing was a simple and easy 
affair, requiring, with so perfect a knowledge of the prin- 
ciples, only a common-sense understanding of the sentence 
assigned as the lesson for exercise. I wondered at the 
blunders of the members of the senior class, and was soon 
advanced to their companionship. And the look and man- 
ner of Master Bethuel Carey are impressed with great dis- 
tinctness upon m}^ memory, as, when a word in Pope's 
" Essay on Man " had started below me, and passed through 
a series of blundering guesses to the foot, he would queerly 
turn his eye up to the head of the class, with the inquiry, 



28 



BEV. SYLVANVS COBB^ D.D. 



"Well, Cobb, what have 3^ou to say upon it?" (The 
reader will excuse the egotism of these recitals. As I am 
the only living witness of these things, and have under- 
taken to record them, I know of no better way than to 
write truly. Autobiography is necessarily egotism. The 
lesson which these incidents urge upon the reader is, the 
importance of giving attention each to his appropriate 
work, and doing thoroughly what is undertaken.) 

As I advanced in my teens, I took great delight in arith- 
metic. When I was in Equation and the Roots, pushing 
on in other studies at the same time, my mental labor was 
so earnest and continuous that my class-mates admon- 
ished me that I must restrict my studies somewhat, lest I 
should seriously injure my health. I did, by my contin- 
uous mental application, lose flesh somewhat, as they per- 
ceived. But, with my strong constitution, and the inter- 
mingling of so much manual labor as entered into my 
farmer-boy life, there was no danger of injury to my 
h-ealth. 

I was equally earnest and industrious in the work of the 
farm in its season, as in the business of study in its time, 
I loved farming. I loved the changes of the seasons, 
which are more interesting to the farmer than to any other 
occupation. I delighted in planting and sowing in the 
spring ; I noted, with enthusiasm, the sj^ringing up and 
advancement of the tender blades of corn and grain. It was 
with a peculiar zest that I took up in due time, and swung 
the sharpened, well-balanced scythe, and laid in magnifi- 
cent windrows the waving field of grass, cured the fragrant 
hay, and noted the gradual rising of the mow in the bay 
and on the scaflTold. And then to reap, and at length 
thresh and winnow, the rich harvest of rye and wheat ; and 
to gather and husk the golden corn ; and to turn out from 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DATS. 



29 



their native hills, and cart into the cellar, the full-grown, 
mealy potatoes ; — in ' all these progressive exercises, I 
found thrilling and rational enjoyment. 

I have spolien of swinging the sharpened, well-balanced 
scythe. I took great pride in mowing. In this polite 
accomplishment I became quite a proficient in the advanced 
stage of my teens. It was the only department of manual 
labor in which I would challenge a competitor. Being tall 
in stature, with broad shoulders and full chest, — and par- 
ticular to keep a keen edge upon my scythe, and all the 
gear symmetrical, — I maintained an erect posture, and 
acquired an easy swing and a drawing stroke, cut a wide 
swath, and pointed in and out, leaving the stubble so even 
that my swaths were scarcely distinguishable when the hay 
was raked off. I knew of no one who could outstrip me in 
mowing. And I performed the work with such ease to 
myself, that I often expressed m}^ feelings in the remark 
that I could mow from breakfast to dinner, in a tolerably 
smooth field of well-grown grass, with as little fatigue, or 
less, than I could walk about the field the same length of 
time empty-handed. 

But I cannot brag of my exploits in any other branch 
of manual labor. In all departments I was diligent and 
faithful to my charge. But in chopping, especially in 
dealing horizontal blows with the axe in felling large 
trees, mj muscles were not hard enough for a continuous 
exercise of the kind. I soon wearied. In hoeing corn and 
potatoes, I was so subservient to a taste for beauty and 
order, and I was so particular to root up every weed and 
to leave the hills nice and regular, and the rows handsome, 
that it was difficult for me to clip along and keep up with 
my companions. This predominant taste for beauty and 
order was once the occasion of a gentle reproof from niy 
8* 



30 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



venerated father, the only one that I recollect having 
received from him. I was then about fourteen years of 
age. My father committed to me, in the spring, with the 
help of my j^onnger brother, Samuel, the " picking up of 
the stones " on a field newly laid down to grass for mow- 
ing. When we had been at the work about long enough, in 
his estimation, to complete the job, he began to inquire 
with regard to our progress. At length he remarked, in a 
hesitating tone, as if he was reluctant to speak it, that it 
seemed to him as if I had been "lazy." This allegation 
grieved me sorely, and I earnestly requested him to go 
and examine my work. It was a new clearing, some dis- 
tance from the portion of the farm on which he and my 
older brothers were at the same time laboring, and he had 
not visited it during the progress of my work upon it. 
He complied with my request. He walked all over the 
field, saw that we had picked up every stone, down almost 
to the pebble size, and, instead of tossing them into small 
and irregular heaps, had gathered them into large piles, 
distant apart, and laid them up into handsome pyramids ; 
and that we had picked up and thrown into separate heaps 
all the Imots and sticks, and everything which, lying on 
the ground, could have interrupted the scythe in the process 
of mowing ; and he uttered hearty exclamations of delight 
and surprise. He wondered that we could have performed 
so much work in the time that we had spent upon it, and 
expressed regret for his words which accused me of indo- 
lence. I speak of myself as the subject of this allegation, 
as I was the only responsible party in the case, — my 
younger brother being four years my junior, a mere 
child. 

My father was able and faithful to furnish his family 
with all necessary physical comforts, and the then common 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



31 



educational privileges. I do not remember that I ever 
presented him a request that he did not grant. But with 
a large family, on a new farm, what produce he could spare 
was of course exchanged for " necessaries," and for money 
to appropriate upon buildings, and payments for the land. 
Spare change was scarce. And, either from delicacy or a 
sense of honor, or from pride, perhaps, I would not ask of 
him any special favors. Therefore, along in those years, 
the early years of my teens, as I wanted some books and 
much stationery, beyond the common school supply, I 
took evening hf>urs, when the farmers were at rest from 
their labors, running sometimes into the moonlight, and 
cut hoop-poles in the neighboring swamps, carried them on 
my shoulders to neighbor Sampson, the cooper, and sold 
them to him for one cent apiece, and thus kept an independ- 
ent purse of my own for the extra literary outfits. 

With regard to the " much stationery," I scribbled over 
a great deal of paper with politics. The Madisonian war 
with England was declared in June, 1812. I was then in 
my fourteenth year of age. The political parties were 
Federalists and Republicans. The Republicans were, in 
that juncture, the war party ; and the Federalists were in 
opposition, to a considerable degree of violence. I thought 
and talked and scribbled, both in poetry and prose, for the 
Republican cause. 

That war proceeded from a series of abuses on the part 
of the British Government. That Government had claimed 
and exercised the "right of search," i. e., the right to 
search American merchant vessels for deserters from the 
British naval service. In the exercise of this assum.ed 
prerogative, many American citizen sailors were claimed 
by searching officers of British men-of-war, and dragged 
away into their naval service. ^This was, of course, cause 



32 



HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



of earnest complaint. Furthermore, there was war be- 
tween England and France. England passed " Orders in 
Council," to make prizes of American vessels with clear- 
ances for a French port. Then France followed, with the 
" Berlin and Milan Decrees," forbidding American trade 
in English ports. At length, after repeated unavailing 
remonstrances, our President made proclamation that, after 
a given date, the interference with our merchant vessels by 
either of those parties would be taken by the American 
Government to be an act of war. France repealed her 
"Decrees," but England persisted in the execution of her 
" Orders in Council," and the American Congress declared 
the position of England to be that of a belligerent in a 
state of war. This act of the Government commended 
itself to my judgment ; and, child that I was, I could not 
vote, but my voice and my pen were active in the support 
of my Government, and the honor of my country ; and I 
cut hoop-poles, and backed them over to my neighbor 
Sampson, to purchase stationery for this and other uses. 

EELIGIOUS EXPERIENCE. 

In relation to the interests of religion, I was early 
educated into the doctrines of Calvinism, as propounded 
in the ' ' Westminster Catechism." My mother exercised me 
in the lessons of that catechism, and the preaching which 
I heard in my childhood was mostly Calvinist Baptist, 
which was held forth in the school-house of my district. 
Sometimes I would go to the Congregationalist meeting at 
the centre of the town, a walk of two miles. 

There was a Universalist society formed, and meeting- 
house built, in Norway Village, very soon after the settle- 
ment of the town. Henry Rust, Esq., from Salem, Mass., 
the proprietor of the south half of the township, called 



mS BIRTH AND EARLY DATS. 



33 



Rustfield, and Ms sons Henry and Joseph, who moved 
with him upon his purchase here, were Universalists of the 
John Murray school. And they early led off in the forma- 
tion of a Universalist society, and in the erection of a 
small meeting-house near their mills, where soon there 
arose a village. Some of the principal of the early set- 
tlers of Paris joined in this organization. 

Rev. Thomas Barnes, whose residence was in Poland, 
about sixteen miles distant, by regular engagement 
preached for this society one Sunday in each month, from 
1798 to near the time of his decease, which was in 1816. 
Rev. Isaac Root alternated with Father Barnes in the occu- 
pancy of this pulpit several seasons ; and other Univer- 
salist ministers preached there occasionally. Rev. William 
Farwell, of Vermont, visited Norway on occasional circuits 
made on horseback. Rev. Sebastian Streeter taught the 
district school in Norway Village in the winter of 1806-7, 
and preached there every other Sabbath during the school 
term. These meetings my father usually attended, riding 
horseback, for he had no carriage in those days of " grid- 
iron bridges ; " but, it being nearly three miles from the 
homestead to the Universalist meeting, I seldom attended 
it. As I have said above, I was exercised by my revered 
and morally faultless mother, in the lessons of the " West- 
minster Catechism," and usually attended the Baptist 
meeting at my distiict school-house. From these sources, 
and from the general religious conversation which I heard, 
my mind was thoroughly imbued with the doctrine of fu- 
ture endless torments. I believed in the hell of sulphu- 
reous flames, as averred by the popular creeds, as really 
and literally as I believed in the existence of any place 
whatever on historical evidence ; as, for instance, of Lon- 
don or Paris, or Boston, even, which then was to me but a 



34 REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

historical fact. And this belief, with my meditatn-e 
habits, inflicted more or less of torture upon my sensitive 
nature daily, from as early in childhood as I can remember 
anything distinctly, to the influx into my soul of heavenly 
light, of which I shall speak shortly. It often rendered 
me very miserable. Frequently, when I retired to bed at 
night, my mind would be agitated by as tremulous a fear 
as it could have been if we were living on the border of a 
wilderness swarming with savage tribes in an Indian war, 
likely to rush upon us anj^ night with mui-derous rage. I 
might die before morning, and then a plunge into hell 
would be m}^ doom. And this fear of hell was not from 
the conviction of any vicious habit. I meant to be a 
good boy. I thought I was a good boy. And this 
was the general opinion. But I had human nature, with 
which I was born. And for the reason of my having 
been born with human nature I was, according to the 
creed, primarily and legitimately an heh' of hell, from 
which I could only be saved by a change of nature. And 
this change was God's work. While trembling in the 
agitation of the most horrible fear of hell, I had no re- 
course available for relief ; for I was human ; human 
nature was the source of my danger, and I could neither 
put human nature off nor change it. I could only worry 
myself asleep into troublous dreams. I was faintly hoping 
that, some time before I should die, the necessary " change 
of nature," or " experience of religion," would take place, 
not by the educational culture of the rational and moral 
nature, but, unaccountably, as one catches a contagious 
distemper. 

When I was twelve or thirteen years of age, as I well 
remember, I spent an autumnal evening at a juvenile 
social party at the house of Mr. Benjamin Herring, in 



HIS BIRTH AND EABLT DAYS. 



35 



whose parlor was suspended a framed picture of hell. Mr. 
Herring was a Universalist ; but the picture belonged to 
his mother, to whom it was presented by a friar in 
Canada. It represented a deep pit filled with flame, in 
the sides of which were various chasms, in which lay 
human forms broiling in agon}^, with ugly serpents coiled 
around their bodies and thrusting their heads down their 
throats. On the brink of the fiery pit stood a form de- 
signed to represent the Supreme Judge, plunging men and 
women headforemost into the pit ; and at difl*erent stages 
below stood infuriated devils, God's workmen, with long, 
ugly pronged pitchforks, on which they were catching the 
victims as they descended, and tossing them down to the 
next below. I examined the picture with intense emotion ; 
and, when I had turned from it, the very horrible in its 
influence would draw me back to another lingering gaze 
upon it. And what gave power to its influence on my 
feelings was the fact that, to my mind, that picture was as 
trul}^ a representation of a fact as any map in my school 
atlas was a representation of a real place. On my way 
home that hell filled my mind, and I knew not how I 
went. It hardly permitted sleep that night ; and what 
it- did give place to was not balmy sleep to soothe the 
weary spirit. 

And now, with regard to the moral influence of this 
slavish fear, I am sure that it never restrained a wrong or 
improper act, nor inspired a good and noble thought, dis- 
position, or deed. The creeds did not impress me with the 
thought that it was by this or that course of conduct that I 
should expose myself to endless burnings ; but I was 
described as suspended over the fiery pit on a brittle hair, 
the slender thread of life, by reason of being an uncon- 
verted person, or, as before expressed, for having the birth- 



36 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



gift of human nature. I am conscious that the influence 
of this doctrine upon me was evil, only evil, and that 
continually. While it never restrained a wrong, or an 
impropriety of conduct, it orphanized me of my Father in 
heaven. It disabled me of the power to exercise pleasant 
and grateful and ennobling views of God. I possessed a 
sensitive nature, tenderly susceptible ; and often the beauties 
of God's works and munificence of his providence would 
instinctively affect me with sentiments of gratitude and 
love. But whenever I would pass into religious contempla- 
tions, all was blackness and darkness and tempest. 

Bat my reason was not passive, nor was my moral sense 
buried in inertia. While the force of early education 
and of surrounding influences impressed my mind with the 
doctrine of endless torments in hell as unquestionably 
true, my intellect quarrelled with its absurdities, and my 
moral sense with its barbarit}^ My profound reverence 
for the Infinite name was gTeatly and painfully embar- 
rassed with the impossibility of harmonizing this doctrine 
with any just conception of honor and right in the self- 
existent and Almighty Creator and Governor of the uni- 
verse, and with the moral attributes which all agreed in 
ascribing to the Deity. The common effort for removing 
the difficulty afforded no relief to mj mind. It was this : 
not that God created imy portion of mankind for the pur- 
pose of making their existence an endless curse to them- 
selves (this figment of Calvinism was generally repudi- 
ated by verbal protestation, however it might be logically 
involved in the doctrines yet adhered to) ; but that they 
should be infinitely happy or miserable, as they should 
make themselves b}^ the use of the agency he gives them, 
in the midst of the counteracting circumstances upon which 
he thi'ows them. This explanation, which was intended to 



mS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



37 



vindicate the Divine character, seemed to me, first, if ad- 
mitted as valid, shamefully to dishonor God ; but, sec- 
ondly, to be invalid from its assumption of an impossibility. 

First, the explanation, if admitted to be valid, involves 
the irreverent assumption, destructive of all human confi- 
dence and hope, that God created man without a purpose ; 
that the superior creation, the universe of created minds 
sharing God's own immortality, and crowned with his 
eternity, were thrown out into being by a sport of power, 
and tossed upon the eddying tide of time, with no great 
purpose, no Divine arrangement, as to what they should 
be, or in what manner their wonderful capabilities should 
be ultimately employed, whether to the production of 
infinite good or infinite evil. This seemed to me to 
undeify Jehovah, by imputing to him a species of folly 
which would belittle even the least of men. For if a man 
were to be found expending great effort and labor, without 
a plan or purpose, he would be regarded as idiotic or 
insane. But, secondly, this explanation is invalid by rea- 
son of the impossibility of its main assumption. They 
who prefer the apologetic explanation, believe in the in- 
finite j)rescience of the Deity, — that, when he created man, 
all the results of human existence were present to his view. 
Of course, it was of his own choice that he called man forth 
from nonentity into being ; and, doing this in perfect 
knowledge of the result, he intended that result. Accord- 
ingl}^, it appeared to me that the efibrt of Arminianism to 
harmonize with the infinite Avisdom and goodness of God, a 
system of creation and government producing and immor- 
talizing a race of intelligent beings for unending torment, 
is only a mj^stification. I could find no rest there. In 
passing hither and yonder from one modification of endless 
miserianism to another for rest and satisfaction, my case 
4 



38 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, T>.B. 



was as that described by the prophet, "As if a man did 
flee from a lion, and a bear met him ; or went into the 
house and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit 
him." 

My mind was exercised on these difl3culties with inten- 
sive labor. The preachers called them mysteries. But it 
was not as mysteries that they troubled me ; for a mystery 
in divine truth is only that which is secret or unknown, 
which will commend itself to the reason and moral sense as 
fast as it becomes revealed. But the dogmas which so 
embarrassed and perplexed me involved moral principles, 
of which the mind of man is capable of judging ; and of 
which we must form an enlightened judgment if we would 
be capable of rendering to God acceptable praise. Praise 
signifies approval, commendation. In order to render 
such praise to God, we must be enlightened into such 
knowledge of God's character and of the principles and 
purposes of his government as shall commend the whole 
to our reason and conscience as just and good. But the 
creeds by which my sensitive mind was shackled, ascribed 
the Satanic principle to the Divine administration particu- 
larly in its judicial and executive departments, making 
punishment to be a final destiny of evil instead of a means 
of discipline to a beneficent end. The ministry of the 
churches all around me was a conglomeration of the irrec- 
oncilable principles of Calvinism and Arminianism. The 
former asserted that the Creator originally purposed the 
endless damnation of countless millions of his children. 
The latter denounced this as a blasphemous imputation of 
infinite malignity to the Deity, yet it ascribed to the 
Divine system of creation and government the same horrid 
result. And how, my anxious mind persistently inquired, 
how should it so eventuate? If God, as Arminianism 



ms BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



39 



insisted, was infinitely good and well-wishing, and the cre- 
ation of the human race was a motion of the Divine good- 
ness, with the view to raise up a great family of children 
to be sharers with himself of infinite felicity and blessed- 
ness, how should the result be so fearfully difierent, in- 
stead of the divinely wished-for and intended scene of 
ultimate and universal moral beauty and blessedness, pre- 
senting the alleged remediless scene of moral desolation 
and ruin? Of course, it must involve the failure and disap- 
pointment of the Deity in the interests of his superior 
creation. Then the knowledge of the Deity must be lim- 
ited ; for infinite prescience could not be disappointed. 
And the same view limits the ability of the Deity, repre- 
senting him as eternally unable to realize his highest 
wishes and intentions in the noblest department of his cre- 
ation. Verily, the ways of the churches were labyrinthian 
ways. Often I would sit musing upon the mountain-top, 
and, surveying the broad expanse before me, recognizing 
the wisdom and power and purpose of God in the vast 
physical sj^stem of creation and government ; and then my 
soul would refuse to acknowledge, as the truth of God, the 
theological dogmas which represented the superior creation 
as thrown out upon chaos without a purpose, and aban- 
doned of the government of the Creator. 



THE CONVERSION. 

I was now, in the autumn of 1813, in the 16th year of 
my age. My mind was in an agou}^ of travail for deliver- 
ance from the liadean darkness and tartarean perplexity of 
human theologies. On one Sunday afternoon a young 
Baptist preacher held a lecture in the house of our nearest 
neighbor, Willis Sampson, which I attended. His text 



40 



BEV, SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



was Mark xvi. 15, 16: "Go ye into all the world and 
.preach the gospel to qyqyj creature. He that believeth and 
is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall 
be damned." The preacher, according to the usual custom, 
involved the subject in utter confusion, confounding the 
gospel, or subject of faith, and the fruit, or reward of faith, 
all together. When his regular services were concluded, 
while a portion of the audience j'et remained, I, though 
naturally diffident, approached the preacher for inquir}^, 
when the following colloquy ensued : — 

Sylvanus. Sir, I have listened to you with earnest 
attention, but am unable to understand you. You have 
said much about the gospel, and about believing and being 
saved, and the like. Now I desire jou to inform me what 
I must believe in order to be saved. 

Minister. Believe the truth. 

JS. What is the truth? 

M. It is the gospel. 

S. What is the gospel ? 

M. Why, this is the gospel : " He that believeth and is 
baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be 
damned." 

JS. He that believeth tvJiat shall be saved ? 

M. The truth. 

S. What is the truth? 

M. It is the gospel. 

S, What is the gospel? 

M. Why, I have told you. He that believeth shall 
be saved," &c. 

JS. He that believeth what? 

And so we ran round and round in a circle, getting at no 



1 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 41 

starting-point, no definite truth upon which for faith to 
take hold. The gospel itself, which is the truth revealed 
as the subject of faith, was made to consist in the an- 
nounced fruit of faith, which follows and cannot precede 
the exercise of faith. I needed what I could not obtain 
from that source, — a clear statement of the truth to be 
believed, which must exist and be revealed before faith, 
constituting the substance for faith to grasp, and the basis 
upon which it shall rest. 

Soon afterwards I went over to my neighbor Sampson's, 
who was a Baptist exhorter, to obtain from him an expla- 
nation of some of the abounding difficulties. I pressed 
him with the disharmony of the parts of the popular creed 
with one another, and of all parts with the teachings of 
the New Testament. I had made myself familiar with the 
prominent doctrinal teachings of the New Testament ; and 
the obvious violence and futility of his efforts to force those 
divine teachings into harmony with his creed, opened to 
my mind more and more clearly their true significance, 
spirit, and power. We continued in earnest discussion 
from early in the evening to two o'clock in the morning, 
during the process of which my mind took fast hold upon 
the great fundamental truths of the gospel, such as the 
universal Fatherhood of God, and his purpose of immortal 
life and good in Christ for the rational creation, to be con- 
summated " in the dispensation of the fulness of times."* 
I had no sectarian name for this frame of mind. It was a 
state of rest in the Lord through faith in his Word. Hav- 
ing been for years enveloped in the fog of mysticism and 
confusion, vainly striving to create a truth by believing 
without a truth, and to construct a foundation of faith by 

*Eph.i. 10. 

4* 



42 EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

a mock faith without foundation, how elate was mj soul 
and ecstatic my joy on coming into the light of God's own 
eternal truth, " not according to our works, but according 
to his own purpose and grace which was given us in Christ 
Jesus before the world began ; but is now made manifest by 
the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abol- 
ished death and brought life and immortality to light 
through the gospel."* 

Then, no longer agonizing in the futile effort to make my 
faith to rest upon itself, I could adopt, with a zest, the 
royal poet's strain : " I waited patiently for the Lord ; and 
he inclined unto me and heard my cry. He brought me 
up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set 
my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he 
hath put a new song into my mouth, even praise unto our 
God." t 

That was a clear autumnal night. And when I walked 
home, two hours past midnight, the starry heavens smiled 
down upon me, and the air seemed fragrant with the love 
of God. I had no conception of the "^sm" under ^hich 
the world would class me, but I confided the government 
of the universe to the infinite Wisdom, and rested its 
immortal interests upon the arm of almighty Goodness. 
My soul was at rest, and the world seemed a new world, 
radiant with the infinite Father's presence. / ims boT'n 
again. That night my sleep was sweet and refreshing, as 
I rested upon the guardianship of the great Father's love, 
as the confiding infant upon its mother's bosom. The 
troublous dreams of hideous devils grinning round my bed, 
which used to disturb my sleeping hours, annoyed me not 
that night, and since have annoyed me never. 



* 2 Tim. i. 9, 10. 



t Psalms xl. 1-3. 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



43 



The next morning my neighbor Sampson's apprentice, 
John Millett, 3d, called upon me, and reported that his 
master regarded my part of the night's discussion as an 
earnest argument for Universalism. But he supposed that 
my object was, not to vindicate that doctrine, but to draw 
from him explanations of the difficult points and the Scrip- 
ture passages presented. I told my friend Millett that he 
might assure his master from me that whatever I affirmed on 
the preceding evening I religiously believed. I knew not 
what to call it but God's truth ; and if that was Universal- 
ism, I was there, there now and forever. Yes, on study 
and reflection I found myself there ; and it was, and is, and 
is to be, Universalism ; " Christ the power of God and 
the wisdom of God ; " * the peace of God in the soul. I 
was full of faith and love and zeal. I could not " silence 
bear." I must needs communicate my glorious discoveries 
to my young associates, and share to them my fulness of 
joy. My sympathy for fellow-beings was doubtless more 
aglow for my conception of the infinite fulness of the 
Saviour's love. Nevertheless, a marked characteristic of 
all Christian couTcrts is a broad and lively sympathy for 
fellow-beings. Even when they bring with them the preju- 
dice of a false religious education, which robs the Father 
and the Son of the beauty of universal love, on first receiv- 
ing Christ as their Saviour they come into such a nearness 
to him as to receive the impress of his Spirit, which is 
impartial love. Accordingly all their hatred of man is 
gone, and they ardently desire that all others may see with 
them the beauty, and feel the power of Heaven's love. 
This is the spirit of every babe in Christ, every subject of 
the new birth. It is the spirit of heaven. Accordingly 



1 Cor. i. 24. 



44 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.Zi. 



the angels of God in heaven, in their ever-glowing sym- 
pathy for the whole moral creation, experience a thrill of 
joy from every step of human advancement in knowledge, 
purity, and blessedness. What an appalling decay of the 
spiritual life must the convert suffer when he shall essay to 
assure his soul of happiness in heaven, in view of the end- 
less sufferings of his friends and fellow-beings ; with the 
conception that he shall then and there be so like God, so 
free from the weaknesses of human nature, that he will be 
utterly indifferent to the allotment of others, and callous 
to sympathetic emotions ! Ah, he mistakes the satanic for 
the Godly spirit. " God is love," and " he that dwelleth 
in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." The more we be- 
come like God the more perfectly shall we lose our selfish- 
ness and forget self in deathless love for our fellow-beings. 
And it is because of the contact of the new-born soul with 
this pervading spirit of Heaven, that he is filled with love 
to all mankind. How sad it is that this moral beauty of 
the soul should, in numerous instances, become marred by 
the strivings of satanic theologies. It is a cruel training 
through which the new-born child of God is forced to pass 
when it adjusts itself to the stays and skewers and lacings 
and thumb-screws of endless miserian theologies. How 
grievously marred is its spiritual beauty by the distor- 
tions of this process. 

I was now in the light and liberty of "the glorious gos- 
pel of the blessed God." And from the day of my deliv- 
erance from the prison-house of darkness, there has never 
been an occasion which tempted me to deny the faith, or 
even to prevaricate with regard to the fulness of my con- 
victions of Christian truth. When I was in the company 
of the learned and fashionable of different sentiments, I 
should have been ashamed of myself, regarding it as 



SIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



45 



depreciative of my understanding, to have it understood 
that I entertained the contrary opinion. Universalism 
appeared to me to be so clearly the outspoken word of 
God, and commended itself so perfectly to my rational 
nature and moral judgment, that, in all circles of society, I 
regarded it as most creditable to myself to be known as 
holding it. In the ingenuous profession of it I invested 
my respectability. This habit of thinking, feeling, and 
acting, on my part, brought me into very frequent contro- 
versial discussions with devotees to other doctrines — clergy 
and laity. Thus was I exercised from the beginning, in 
the Christian warfare, which necessitated a familiar and 
earnest study of the Scriptures, and comparative analysis 
of doctrines. 

During the ensuing winter, Dec, 1813, to March, 1814, 
advancing me the months from the preceding July in my 
sixteenth year, I attended^^ as usual, the district school, 
which, this term, was taught by Rev. Noah Cressey, the 
pastor of the Congregational church of Norway. Mr. 
Cressey was an excellent teacher ; and I vigorously pushed 
on my studies in the English branches of literature and 
science under his instruction. 

At the close of the school term in the spring of 1814, I 
returned to the assistance of my father in the robust pro- 
fession of farming. The war with England continued. 
My oldest brother, Ebenezer, was a volunteer in the United 
States service, in the division of the arm}^ stationed on 
Lake Champlain. My next younger brother, Cyrus, had 
passed into the era of legal freedom, and was at work out 
on his own account. One brother who was my senior in 
age, Churchill, then in his nineteenth year, was with us at 



46 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



home, and also the youngest of the family, Samuel, in his 
thirteenth j^ear. My father took the "Eastern Argus," the 
first newspaper I ever saw, a weekly paper published in 
Portland, in the Republican interest. No daily paper was 
then published in Maine. We eagerly looked for the com- 
ing of the " Argus " every Saturday, for the imr news. And 
as my father's sight had become somewhat dim, he usually 
seated himself the first leisure hour after the arrival of the 
paper (and that was generally toX:en at once), and devolved 
upon me the service of reading all the war news aloud. By 
this means I became very practically familiar with the art 
of reading. 

As autumn approached, we had reports of a large British 
war fleet lying off the Atlantic coast, in a position to 
pounce upon either of oui- Atlantic cities which its com- 
manders might choose. Gov. Caleb Strong, who had 
refused to call out the militia of the State, or a detachment 
thereof, upon the order of President Madison, now made a 
large draft of the Massachusetts militia, and ordered them 
to the defence of the sea-board. Maine was then a province 
of Massachusetts. In September, our entire regiment, of 
Oxford Count}^, was mustered, and marched to Portland. 
After two weeks a draft was made, and both of my brothers 
who, besides Ebenezer, who was a volunteer in the army, 
were liable, age, to military duty, were drafted for an 
indefinite time to remain in the defence of Portland. This 
took away Churchill, who was with us on the farm, and 
left the " fall work," as circumstances were, to myself, in 
my seventeenth year, and Samuel in his thirteenth year of 
age. As circumstances were, I have said ; for father was 
confined to the house a considerable portion of the time, 
by a painful inflammation in one of his eyes. And Samuel 
also was disabled for labor a portion of the time, by a 



HIS BIRTH ANT) EARLY DAYS. 



47 



tj^phus fever, thus leaving me quite alone. But I suc- 
ceeded with what help Samuel was able to render me, to 
harvest two acres of corn and two acres of potatoes ; and 
to "break up" a lot of greensward for planting the next 
spring. Assistance for the latter job, the " breaking up," 
I obtained from a neighbor. Deacon Herring, upon the 
S3^stem well known among farmers as " changing work." 

In October, we learned that my brother Churchill, in 
camp at Portland, was on the sick-list. I procured a light 
wagon of Mr. Levi Bartlett at the village (for not many 
farmers had that luxury in those days) , harnessed to it the 
old red mare, put in a bag each of corn and wheat, and 
ever-so-many pagliages of pies from the mothers of the 
neighborhood for their sons in camp, and away I went to 
Portland (forty-five miles) to market said cereals, feed the 
boys with dainties, and put myself into the army as a sub- 
stitute for my sick brother, and send him home with the 
team. The first day's ride carried me to Major Cobb's 
tavern in Gray, within fifteen miles of Portland, where I 
put up for the night. In the morning the Major bade me 
welcome to the night's entertainment of self and horse, 
ascribing his liberality partlj^ to his respect for my father, 
whom he knew, and partly to the public interest of my 
mission. And he sent a cash order by me to his grocer in 
Portland, for a few light articles of merchandise. 

On entering the strange and branching streets of Port- 
land, I felt a lonesomeness indeed. It was an embarrassing 
predicament for a bashful country-boy, pressed thus pre- 
maturely into the responsibilities of a man. But I was 
soon cheered up a little. I had driven but a short way 
down Main Street, when a gentleman beckoned me to stop ; 
and, looking into the wagon, and learning by inquiry what 
I had in those bags, he asked me my price for the wheat 



48 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D,B. 



and corn respectively. I told him I would ascertain the 
market price. He said he would pay me two dollars and a 
half a bushel for the wheat. This appeared to me to be an 
enormous price, and I let him take it at once, and the corn 
also at a proportionably high price, for which he paid me 
the cash. 

My marketable loading disposed of, I made my way to 
the encampment of the Oxford soldiers. It was on the 
handsome' swell of land commanding a view of the harbor, 
which was the site of Fort Preble. I found Churchill able 
to return to duty ; and he would not hear a word of m}^ 
taking his place as a substitute. And as the camps were 
not kept so neat and cleanly as to suit my taste, I was not 
inclined to press that arrangement at all. 

At the camp I met with Thompson Hall, of Falmouth, 
whose father, Major Isaiah Hall, resided in Norway. He 
proposed to take a seat with me in my wagon, and pilot 
me to his home in Falmouth, and entertain me over the 
night. I of course accepted the invitation, and thus passed 
another night without expense. 

The next day I drove deliberately on homeward, and 
reached the parental mansion about nine o'clock in the 
evening, relieving my solicitous parents from painful anxi- 
ety about my safety. My report of myself to my father 
afforded him serene satisfaction. On delivering to Major 
Cobb, of Gray, on my return-route, the goods he had 
ordered by me, he paid me handsomely for the business and 
the transportation, — and Thompson Hall pressed upon me 
some money besides my entertainment, for carrying out 
some merchandise with and for him, so that, besides pay- 
ing over to my father an unexpected sum for the corn and 
wheat, I rendered in a balance of cash for truckage over 



MIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



49 



all expenses. Such returns were peculiarly interesting at 
that time, when there was a great scarcity of money. 

As winter approached, the British fleet withdrew from 
our coast, and my brothers, with the rest of the drafted 
militia, returned home. (The treaty of Ghent, which ter- 
minated that war, was concluded in the succeeding Decem- 
ber.) 

On the ensuing winter 1814-15, our district school was 
kept by Eev. Noah Cressey, before spoken of, who was a 
superior school-master, and afforded me all the advantages of 
an academic term. I attended through the long four months' 
term. Mr. Cressey used often to invite me to tarry a while 
with him for special exercises, after the close of the school 
at evening. Generallj^ these extra attentions were devoted 
to exercises in reading in the different styles, particularly 
the "grand" and the "pathetic." This was altogether 
of his own volition, because he perceived, as he explained 
the reason, that I was destined to fill some place as a 
public speaker. Of his kindness I entertained, and shall 
always cherish in memorj?-, a high appreciation. 

At the close of the school term, I returned to my accus- 
tomed diversified labors on the paternal estate. 

On the succeeding winter 1815-16, 1 attended a long 
term of our district school again, under the tuition of 
the excellent Rev. Mr. Cressey. July 17th, 1816, I was 
eighteen years of age, and became subject to military duty 
under the militia law as it was. I attended the drills of 
the military trainings, armed and equipped as the law 
flirected. Late in the autumn I went over into the south- 
east part of Waterford, but few miles from my paternal 
home, and engaged for a short term in the winter to teach 
a small district school. But before the designated term 
commenced this little district merged itself into another, 
5 



50 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



'the Temple Hill District, which had its teacher engaged ; 
and thus my debut in the profession of school teacher was 
postponed to another season. 

ARRANGEMENT AT THE HOMESTEAD. 

In December of this year (1816), my brother Cyrus, five 
years my senior in age, returned to the parental mansion, 
and took charge of the old homestead. The arrangement 
was entered upon by my suggestion. My father was in 
feeble health ; I was becoming engaged in literary pur- 
suits ; and I proposed that Cyrus should haTe the whole 
estate deeded to him, subject to a small mortgage, provided 
he would make it his, home, and nourish and sustain our 
parents during their lives. This arrangement was duly 
executed ; and it placed matters at home in a pleasant 
condition. 

1817. On account of the before-mentioned disappoint- 
ment in regard to school-keeping, the opening winter 
months of this 3^ear were not improved to great advantage. 
Our district school was kept by a young man who was 
reared in an adjoining district, by the name of Nathan 
Noble. He was a worthy young man. But as he was not 
in advance of me in education, he could render me no 
assistance ; and my attendance at the school, and reciting 
in branches with the first class, which were alread}^ familiar, 
was nearly a waste of the time. I should have been more 
profitably employed in pursuing advanced studies, and his- 
torical reading, and diversified compositions, at home. 

The ensuing spring and summer months were devoted to 
farming ; provided always that the rainy days or parts of 
days (when there was no work to be done in barn or cel- 
lar), and the evenings and the hour's nooning which my 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



51 



father's philosophy usually took, and gave the boj-s, were 
improved in reading, writing compositions, and advancing 
studies. 

This autumn I attended, a term of three months, at a 
private academy of the before-mentioned Rev. Noah Cres- 
se3', kept at his house, boarding in his family. Among my 
fellow-students was Henry W. Millett, of the same common 
school district with myself. It was, to me, a pleasant 
season. 

I said on page 44, that, " from the day of my deliver- 
ance from the prison-house of darkness, there has never 
been an occasion which tempted me to deny the faith, or 
even to prevaricate with regard to the fulness of my con- 
victions of Christian truth." My devotedness to the faith 
was well tested during this school term. I had no thought 
of purchasing the favor of my Rev. and learned Preceptor 
by feigning an agreement with him in religious opinion. 
One evening, at the supper table, in the presence of a 
dozen students, Mr. Cressey made a disrespectful remark 
of Rev. Tho. Barnes, of Poland, who preached Universal- 
ism in Norway once a month, and of the doctrine. I took 
him up on his remarks, and insisted on their injustice. An 
earnest doctrinal discussion ensued, which was adjourned 
from the table to the parlor, and continued through the 
night to 3 o'clock in the morning. The students remained 
as hearers ; but after midnight they dropped off for bed 
one by one, and but two or three of them were present 
when the discussion was closed. 

There w^as one " passage at arms" which greatly amused 
the students, and of which some of them have often spoken 
on our meeting in subsequent years. Mr. Cressey adduced 
Matt. XXV. 46, as proof of endless punishment. I com- 
menced at the beginning of the discourse of Christ of 



52 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



which that verse is the close, and was reading along to 
show that the subject of the whole discourse was a judg- 
ment which should take place in the end of the Jewish age 
in that generation. Perceiving the force of this exegetical 
method, he interrupted me with the exclamation, " You are 
running off to something else. I must confine you to this 
single verse." "Well," said I, "then it means nothing. 
' These shall go away into everlasting punishment.' Who 
are meant by these 9 This pronoun has no meaning with- 
out an antecedent." " O," he replied, " you may go back 
into the connection to find the antecedent of these." Then 
I struck in again at the point where he interrupted me, 
and read along as before. Shortly he interrupted me in 
like manner again, saying, "I'm going to confine you to 
this verse : ' These shall go away into everlasting punish- 
ment ; but the righteous into life eternal.' " " Then," I 
rejoined, " I give it up as nnexplainable, and meaning 
nothing. If we may not seek an explanation of these 
words of the Master from the Master himself, by consult- 
ing the connections of his discourse for the general sub- 
ject, it will be useless to waste time in a jingle on a 
detached expression." And so my preceptor consented to 
leave that passage. 

We passed to the discussion of other Scripture texts ; 
and, in an hour or more subsequently, he found occasion 
to quote the words of Ezekiel, " The soul that sinneth, it 
shall die." I asked him what was meant by the death 
there referred to. "Eternal death," he replied. "And 
who are sinners?" I asked. "All men are sinners," he 
responded; "for 'all have sinned and come short of the 
glory of God.'" "Then," said I, "all men must suffer 
endless torment, and there is no hope either for you or 
me." " Why ! why ! " he exclaimed, " what do you mean?" 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DATS. 



53 



"Why, I mean what I say. The prophet says, 'The soul 
that sinneth, it shall die.' You say this means eternal 
death ; and that all have sinned. Then, by your own 
showing, all shall suffer eternal death." The following 
encounter ensued : 

Cressey. But there is an atonement 

Cobb. No, this passage says nothing about an atone- 
ment. It says ' The soul that sinneth, it shall die.' And 
you say the sinners are all men, and the death — endless 
misery. There is no hope 

Cressey. But Jesus Christ 

Cobb. No, no. This passage sajs nothing about Jesus 
Christ. I am going to confine 3^ou to this single verse. I 
insist that you shall show me, from this verse^ that any 
man can escape final wo 

Cressey — (trembling with excitement, and elevating his 
voice). But we must go to the general teachings of the 
Scriptures. 

Cobb. Good, good, my dear sir. Now that you have 
come to see that we must explain Scripture by Scripture, 
we will return to the 25th of Matthew, and I will show you 
from the connections the meaning of the verse which you 
quoted. 

And he yielded to this demand with respectful attention, 
and I finished up my exegetical commentary on the 24th 
and 25th chapters, which he permitted to pass without 
further opposition. We continued our discussion for some 
time yet, touching different points of doctrine and different 
texts of Scripture, until about 3 o'clock a.m., when he pro- 
posed an adjournment to bed, to which I acceded. He 
came out late the next forenoon, saluting me jovially with 
6* 



54 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



reference to our night's theological contest. He gave me 
no occasion afterwards to encounter him in defence of my 
faith ; and, instead of withdrawing his attentions because 
of my ingenuousness in the maintenance of m}- religious 
principles, he manifestly held me in the higher estimation. 
I believe that 3^oung men will usually find it good polic}^ as 
well as good principle, to be seriously and candidly faith- 
ful to their religious convictions, — faithful to their God as 
well as to their social relations. 

In due season I engaged to teach the Temple Hill School 
District in Waterford the ensuing winter, for a term of two 
months, if I do not misremember. I believe, however, 
that private subscriptions extended the term to three 
months. 

Saturday, Dec. 10, — I went over to Waterford, to be on 
hand to commence my school Monday the 12th, according 
to engagement. My designated boarding house was Joel 
Atherton's. He was the District Agent who contracted 
with me as teacher. In the afternoon I called upon the 
Chairman of the School Committee, Rev. Lincoln Ripley, 
at the Centre of the Town^ for Examination and Certificate. 
He was down in his well, assisting his hired man in cleans- 
ing it. Not willing to leave so rare a job, he told me that 
he would assume the responsibility to set me at work for 
the ensuing week, postponing the examination to the next 
Saturday. 

Monday, Dec. 12, 1817.— This morning at nine o'clock, 
1 made my debut in the capacity of a school-master. The 
information I had received since coming into the place in 
relation to the i^ast character of the school, had filled me 
with fear and trembling. The school had been for the last 
tliree winters in terrible disorder. The large scholars 
sometimes treated the master to threats of violence. I was 



mS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



55 



naturally diffident ; and, being entirely without experience 
in this branch of business, I feared that I should fail, and 
wished myself out of the concern. However, I was there 
and would try. 

Saturday^ Dec. 18. — This was the day of trial at head- 
quarters. In the afternoon I went up to Parson Riplej^'s 
according to arrangement, for examination. After a brief 
trial of my proficiency in reading, spelling, grammar, and 
the rules of arithmetic, the parson turned his inquiries to 
the subject of religious doctrine. I answered his inquiries 
with the same directness with which I responded to his 
examinations in literature and science ; making the Holy 
Scriptures, instead of Murray's Grammar, Pike's Arithme- 
tic, and Johnson's Dictionary, my appeal for authority. 
This discussion was continued until an advanced hour in 
the evening, when my venerable inspector turned to his 
desk, and wrote the following : 

This may certify that Mr. Sylvanus Cobb appears, on exam- 
ination, to possess a competent knowledge of those branches of 
education which are usually taught in our common schools. He 
also has in his possession legal vouchers for his being a young 
man of good moral character. Agreeably to these testimonials 
he is hereby recommended as one qualified for an instructor of a 
common school. 

LINCOLN RIPLEY, 

Minister of Waterford. 

Waterford, Dec. 18, 1817. 

When he had passed this certificate into my hand, and I 
had j)laced it in my wallet, he pensively remarked that he 
regretted that I was coming into the town to disseminate 
Universalism among the children. I replied that, even if 
it were to be my business to teach Theology in Waterford, 



56 



HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the impartation to the children of the principles of my reli- 
gion would be precisely adapted to their highest need. It 
would give them a Father in God, whom they could trust 
and love. "If, to produce reverence for family govern- 
ment at their homes, I should deliver to them a disserta- 
tion on parental discipline, alleging that, if they should dis- 
obey their parents, their parents would contrive and execute 
a mode of punishment designed to preclude their future 
improvement, and to compass their utter ruin, those parents 
would, and that with your approbation, drive me out of 
town as a defamer and a madman. And yet you are sad 
to think that I may inspire the children of my school with 
as adoring a conception of the principles of their heavenly 
Father's government, as you would have them entertain of 
the government of their earthly parents ; that I will not 
petrify their souls with the thought that God, in his judi- 
cial administration, will make punishment an instrument 
of final ruin to his children, instead of a means of correc- 
tion to a beneficent end. 

" But," I continued, " it is not my business to teach the- 
ology in the common school. The voters of Waterford 
appropriate money to you, sir, as their teacher in theology. 
And the purpose for which a portion of them have con- 
tracted with me, is that of imparting to their children in- 
struction in the rudiments of common learning. It will be 
my duty, of course, to inculcate, and practically exemplify, 
the morality of the gospel ; and incidentally, to inculcate 
those principles of religious veneration in which all Chris- 
tian denominations agree. But, if I were of your religious 
opinions, for me to take the advantage of my position in 
the school, to intrude upon the children theological dogmas 
on which their parents are conscientiously at variance, 
would be a reprehensible wrong." 



mS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



57 



The parson did not find how to controvert this position ; 
but he said that with my leave, he would add a Post Script 
to my Certificate. I handed it back to him, and he ap- 
pended the following : 

P. S. ISTotwithstanding Mr. Cobb appears legally qualified 
as above, I could not consistently commit a child to the care 
of one of his religious sentiments. 

LmCOm RIPLEY. 

Waterford, Dec. 18, 1817. 

On receiving from his hand the amended Certificate, and 
reading the Post Script, I stood erect, full six feet and 
an inch, and assured him that he was doing me a favor 
which he did not intend, and inflicting on himself an 
injury, which I, as his friend, should regret ; that I would 
earn the confidence and respect of the people, who would 
condemn him for his attempt to injure me for my religious 
faith. 

There was I, a green countr}^ j^outh 19 j^ears of age, on 
m}^ first endeavor out in the world, in a town in which I 
had not been able to learn of a single person professing 
the faith which I cherished, knowing that the District 
Agent who engaged me as a teacher was a member of this 
Rev. gentleman's church, charged with the delivery to that 
Agent of credentials with the attache of an ecclesiastical 
anathama, which the clerical Committee-man, in his esti- 
mate of his own influence, probably believed would send 
me snivelling, back from whence I came. I wonder that I 
did not quail. But, in the integrity of my principle, I 
knew no fear. 

As I was about retiring, Mr. Ripley expressed the hope 
that I should show that writing to the Committee at once. 
I assured him that it would be my pleasure to do so. 



58 



REV. STLVANUS COBB. D.D. 



On reaching the house of the Agent, the Chairman of 
the District Committee, Joel Atherton, with whom I was 
then boarding, I informed him, before being seated, of the 
request of his minister, that I would at once exhibit to 
him my letters of approval and condemnation, at the same 
time placing in his hand my cherished Certificate and 
Post Script. He read, and squirmed, and scowled, and 
at length exclaimed, '* I did not think that Mr. Ripley 
w^as so much of a fool." And the Bull of the " Minister of 
Waterford " met with a similar reception throughout the 
District. The week that I had been with the school by 
permission, before the Examination, had begotten a strong 
mutual attachment between me and all the school, and the 
parents of course, and Mr. Ripley's Post Script affected 
them with deep disgust. 

And forthwith the working of this matter fully verified 
the admonition which I delivered to the parson on the first 
reading of his "P. S." The report of it, in connection 
with the fact that there was a Universalist teaching the 
Temple Hill District School, spread over the town like 
" wildfire." It brought up to the surface and exposed 
two or three confirmed Universalists who had not taken a 
public position as such ; and it brought to me inquirers 
from different parts of the town. It being a farming town, 
many of the people were in the habit of tarrying at and 
near the Church Sunda}^ noon. Numbers would often 
gather around the Universalist School Master, some ap- 
proaching with inquiries concerning my views of religion, 
religious experience, &c. My custom was, to answer with 
reverent statements of the purpose of the Saviour's mission 
in general, and the spirit of his life, which was of course 
the spirit of his religion. And this was love. I would 
take them along with me in my estimate of this holy spirit 



HIS BIRTH AXD EARLY DATS, 



59 



of Christianit}^, its influence upon the soul, and the sym- 
pathies and aspirations which it enkindled in our hearts 
for our fellow-beings, which could never be satisfied but 
by a hope corresponding with these sympathies and aspira- 
tions. They would unhesitatingly express their acquies- 
cence in these views ; and when I would tell them that this 
is Universalism^ ihaj would appear delightfully astonished, 
and one and another would fraukl}^ confess, " Then I am 
a Universalist." These conversations would lead to fur- 
ther inquiries, and to the study of the Scriptures ; some- 
times to the loan of some of my theological books. 

THE SCHOOL. 

But I was duly at work in the service of my new calling, 
as a School Master. Monday morning, Dec. 12, 1817, as 
before stated, I entered the Temple Hill School House in 
Waterford, to begin this responsible mission. I felt my 
dependence, and opened the exercises with prayer. I then 
addressed the scholars, explaining the purpose for which 
we had come together ; the appropriation by their parents 
of money from their hard earnings for the support of the 
school, all for their (the children's) good ; the responsi- 
bility which rested upon, me, whom they had placed there 
as the governor and teacher of the school, to be faithful in 
my endeavors that their reasonable expectations should be 
realized. I expressed also my confidence that the scholars 
would cheerfully co-operate with me in the pleasant and 
profitable work before us. And as system was essential to 
success in such a business, I propounded a code of laws 
for their government. I attached no penalties to m}^ laws. 
I maintained a course of remark which did not admit of 
the suspicion that any one would be disposed to disobey, 



60 



HEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



and introduce disorder, to the injury of themselves -with the 
whole school. I left ull penal discipline to be called in 
requisition and adjusted as circumstances should require. 
But it was seldom, hardly at all, that I found corporeal 
punishment requisite. I conversed with all the older 
scholars individually, ascertaining their stage of progress 
in education, and their wishes and intentions for that term, 
that I might class them judiciously ; and I urged them to 
exercise the utmost freedom in the way of calling upon me 
for aid. The order of the school soon became perfect ; and 
the same large boys, }■ oung men I may say, who had been 
named to me as having been insubordinate to the man who 
had acted in the place of master the three preceding win- 
ters, became my most respectful associates, aiding me by 
their example in the maintenance of order. 

At the close of the term I had an " Examination," at 
which the Committee, including the before-mentioned Rev. 
Mr. Ripley, were present. Mr. Ripley spoke enthusiasti- 
cally of the order and i3rogress of the school, and pro- 
nounced it the best in town. 

I will record the fact here, with reference to Rev. Mr. 
Riplej^'s " Post Script,'' that before the close of this term I 
was engaged to teach this school the next winter ; and 
was also engaged, by Abel Houghton, a member of Mr. 
Ripley's church. Agent of the District in the North-Avest 
corner of the town, called " Blackguard," to teach that 
school also the next winter. This I was able to do, as the 
terms were but two months each in the two districts. 

A. D. 1818. 

I have already run my narrative three months into this 
year, by the sketch of my Waterford school. During the 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



61 



spring and summer months I assisted my brother Cyrus on 
the Homestead, as I was obligated to do by the before-men- 
tioned arrangement wliicli I initiated. 

In the autumn I took another Academic term of school- 
ing under the tuition of the aforesaid Rev. Noah Cressey, 
at his house. The school of 12 or 14, was composed 
mostly of the same young men that pursued their studies 
together here on the preceding autumn. 

In December, I returned to my school in Temple Hill 
District, Waterford. Starting with the mutual attach- 
ments, and the stage of progress, attained last winter, this 
was an exceedingly pleasant and profitable term. 

In January, 1819, I entered upon my work in the North- 
west District of the same town, my engagement with which 
is noted on the preceding page. This school, too, had suf- 
fered from defective government in times past ; but it 
speedily came into order, and achieved advancement very 
satisfactory to the parents, and the Town Committee. I 
boarded a portion of the time with Abel Houghton, and a 
part with a Mr. Whitcomb. 

Before leaving town I was engaged to teach this North- 
west District again the next winter, and also the Temple 
Hill District. And the Committee of the " City District," 
in which Rev. Mr. Ripley resided, engaged me for that 
District also the next winter. 

\ 

A. D. 1819. 

Having closed my second school in Waterford, which ran 
three months into this year, I returned to the Homestead, 
and assisted my brother Cyrus on the farm, as per agree- 
ment. 

6 



62 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



TWENTY-ONE YEARS OLD. 

JULY 17TH ; — I attained to tJie age of Legal Freedom 
on which occasion I broke forth into song, as follows : — 

1. 

Now one and twenty years I've lived, 

With countless blessings crowned, 
And in my father's house received 

Supplies for needs I've found. 

2. 

His table, house, and fields were mine, 

Flow'rs and arborous shade : 
Oft have I there at case reclined ; 

Oft o'er the fields I've played. 

3. 

When I would walk the blooming fields, 

Or pleasant verdant grove ; 
Or, for the beauties nature yields, 

Would o'er the mountains rove ; 

4. 

The little birds have merry been, 

And cheered me with their song ; 
And with their soft melodious strain. 

My voice I'd often join. 

5. 

From ev'ry side, east, west, south, north, 

The laughing flow'rs would look. 
And send their lively fragrance forth. 

O'er mountain, field, and brook. 

6. 

And when I thus abroad have strayed. 

No troubles would incline ; 
Of morrow's suff 'rings not afraid; — 

My father's house was mine. 



MIS BIETH AND EARLY DATS. 



7. 

Whenever I should weary grow, 
Or should there storms arise ; 

The furious winds tempestuous blow, 
Or thunders shake the skies ; — 

8. 

Or should the darksome night advance. 

Or cold and chilling blast, 
Or hunger e'er my wants enhance, — 

I to my home would haste. 

9. 

There'd be a table richly spread. 

And there a fire-side free : 
I might recline on downy bed, 

Or eat, and rise to play. 

10. 

But now another scene appears ! 

Let joy lie silent by. 
Awake, my cares; awake, my fears ! 

Fate raises now his cry. 

11. 

Methinks he says, the day is come. 

When none is bound to me, 
To feed, or clothe, or find a home; — 

There's nothing mine I see. 

12. 

What I before have called my own 

Is now no longer mine. 
May I not sit and grieve alone ? 

To meagre want resign ? 

13. 

May I not suffer m the field. 

As nothing I possess 
That can to me assistance yield, 

In hunger or distress ? 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



14. 

Whenever I shall weary be, 

When winter's storms pervade, 
Where shall I then for shelter flee ? 

Or where recline my head ? 

15. 

Peace, peace, my soul ! an angel speaks 

In renovating strain ! 
What fiend with uncouth message seeks 

To give your spirit pain ? 

16. 

Why now distrust your guardian Friend, 
Who rules in boundless love, — 

Who makes a wise and glorious end 
All dispensations prove ? 

17. 

Your former home, delightful shade, 

Your gardens, flow'ry fields. 
Gay, pleasant pastures, where you've strayed. 

All beauties nature yields; 

18. 

Your life, support, yea, all your joys. 

From that great Fountain came. 
Whose fulness no dire foe destroys. 

Eternally the same. 

19. 

Your "heavenly Father," he commands 

That you shall him address; 
Your Friend at home, in distant lands, 

In health or in distress. 

20. 

Yea, all mankind his oflFspring are. 

Their fortune he'll control ; 
They shall his grace and mercy share; — 

He's boundless love to all. 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DATS. 



21. 

Awake, my joys ! away, my fears ! 

My great Protector lives ! 
His word, his name my spirit cheers, 

And hope and pleasure gives. 

22. 

Now I can walk the blooming field, 
And bow'rs in endless green; 

Where flowers eternal fragrance yield. 
Which grace the shining scene. 

23. 

My walks with richest fruits o'erhung, 
Are lined and paved with gold; 

Pure, living waters flow along, 
The vales of peace unfold. 

24. 

Thus I in heavenly pleasures rove. 

Or joyful sit and sing, 
Beneath my heavenly Father's care. 

My Guardian and my King. 

25. 

But, in my soul should darkness rise. 

And unbelief awake, 
And I against my king devise, — 

Will he not me forsake ? 

26. 

No : as a father, should his son. 
While under his command, 

In a destructive contract run, 
Lets not th' agreement stand ; — 

27. 

So should I covenant with death, 
Or e'er with hell agree, 



6* 



66 



EEF. SYLVANUS COBBy D.D. 



My King — Almighty Father, saith, 
Your contract void shall be." * 

28. 

Is such thy faithfulness, dear Lord ? 

And such thy tender care ? 
Then I will trust thy steadfast word. 

Thy righteous law admire. 

29. 

• And while I breath and being have, 

In good or evil days, 
I'll joy in thine unbounded love, 
And try to live thy praise. 

I had now fulfilled my legal obligation to my father, 
which was the rendering to him of my labor during the age 
of legal minority, taking only reasonable time for schooling. 
And this service, when the arrangement, by my sugges- 
tion, was made with my brother Cyrus, for his taking the 
Homestead, was, by my determined choice, transferred to 
him. The occupancy of the two preceding winters at 
school-keeping was but the use in my own way of the time 
to which I, in common with my brothers, was entitled for 
attendance upon the District school. But my terms, in the 
two preceding autumns, at Cressey's Academy, occupied 
time which my brothers, in their turns respectively, at the 
same age, devoted to the paternal farm. Therefore, to be 
even with them, at the close of my school-keeping terms, 
I ask«d my father what were the wages per month in the 
fall for a young man at farm work. On being informed, I 
counted out to him the money for the time absorbed by my 
Academic terms. He at first refused to accept it, and 
seemed grieved at my proposal to pay him for the time 



* Isa. xxviii. 15-18. 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



67 



taken for schooling. I told him that my purpose was fixed. 
I appreciated his kind feelings, and those of Cyrus, who 
also objected to my proposition, as it would accrue to his 
benefit. But I had taken to myself autumnal months 
which my brothers had devoted to farm work ; and I would 
not accept any partiality in my own favor. I would be 
even with the rest of the family. And I carried out my 
will in the premises, and made all satisfied with it. 

But now I was " Twenty-One." I hired myself to our 
neighbor, Benj. Herring, for a month, at haying, for twenty 
dollars^ which was considered, at the time, high wages. I 
had a great knack at mowing. It was the only branch of 
farm work at which I would engage in a race, I had a 
good and healthy constitution ; but for chopping my mus- 
cles were not hard enough to work continuously with ease ; 
and at hoeing and reaping my back would tire. But I 
have spoken of these things before. 

After this month at haying on hire, I let myself to Gen. 
Wm. Parsons for another month, at miscellaneous farm 
work ; at the close of which I entered upon an Academic 
school term on Paris Hill. Hebron Academy was burned 
some time before, and had not been rebuilt ; and this 
school was substituted for the time. Stephen Emery, who 
has since been a Judge of the Supreme Court of Maine, 
was our Preceptor the first part of the term, and Elijah 
Hamlin, an older brother of Hannibal Hamlin, since Vice- 
President of the United States, succeeded Mr. Emery in 
charge of the school. I boarded with Maj. Russell Hub- 
bard, son of Gen. Levi Hubbard. 

During this school term I formed some interesting 
acquaintances, which were life-lasting ; and some of my 
fellow-students have risen to eminent stations. John Otis, 
who went into the practice of law, represented the District 



68 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



of Kennebec in Congress for at least one term ; and Han- 
nibal Hamlin, another of my companions of that school 
term, after good service both in the Honse of Representa- 
tives and in the Senate of the United States, and as gov- 
ernor of Maine, was elected (in 1860) Vice-President of 
the United States, in connection with the first four-year 
term of the Presidency of Abraham Lincoln. In 1865, he 
was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to the Col- 
lectorship of the Port of Boston. 

But in all my positions and relations I was proud of 
my religious faith. I was never ashamed of my Lord and 
Master, the Saviour of the world. My love of the glorious 
faith, of the gospel, conduced to a preparedness on the 
instant for its defence whenever occasion called. I will 
here note an incident illustrative of this remark. One 
morning I fell into company with several fellow-students 
on the Common, upon our way to the Academy. One of 
them was a candidate for the Orthodox Congregational 
ministry. We fell into conversation on doctrines of the- 
ology. The discussion settled down upon the term aionion, 
as applied in the New Testament to punishment. I as- 
sumed that its primary signification is duration of time 
indefinite, and is used both in a limited and unlimited 
sense ; and of course that its sense in any given case must 
be determined by the nature of the subject to which it is 
applied. And as punishment is not an end, but a means to 
an end, it is of course limited in its nature, and the word 
aionion has no power to eternize it. M}^ Orthodox com- 
panion conceded that the word is often used in a limited 
sense, being applied to things of time ; but insisted that its 
primary and proper meaning is endless. The other mem- 
bers of the accidental meeting gave their voices in his 
favor. 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



69 



At this juncture we saw Preceptor Hamlin coming, and 
agreed to submit the question to him. On his joining our 
company, the case was presented to him, and our positions 
respectively were stated. He unhesitatingly replied, that 
the primary and proper signification of aionion is endless. 
My companions were pleased ; and I was not displeased, 
for I knew where I stood, and was confident of victory, 
even through our Preceptor's judgment. I replied to him, 
that it might appear pedantic in me, a student in Latin, 
who had not then even learned the Greek alphabet, to con- 
trovert the position of my learned Preceptor on the sense 
of a Greek word. But you, I continued, with a general 
knowledge of Greek, have not had your attention called to 
a critical examination of the derivation and use of this 
particular word. You merely float along in the common 
opinion concerning it. But what I know of it, I know 
certain. I have read most of the discussions of it, in which 
the learned of different religious sentiments have partici- 
pated, — and I know that the primary meaning of aionion 
is duration of time indefinite; and of course that its sense 
must be judged of in each case of its use, from the nature 
of the subject. And now, said I, Preceptor Hamlin, I 
propose that you improve your leisure time between this 
and to-morrow morning at this hour, in a critical review 
of this subject, when we will meet again on this spot, and 
hear your decision. To this he assented, and all agreed. 

The next morning we students were on the spot a little 
in advance of the hour ; but, in due time the Preceptor 
approached, showing the white of his ivory from as far as 
we could see him. When he had come near enough to be 
heard in a conversational tone, he exclaimed, " Cobb! 
You've got it. You are right, Cobb, perfectly right. It 
is," he continued, " as you said. I had a general knowl- 



70 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



edge of the Greek. I read the Greek of the New Testa- 
ment in my Academic and College course ; but my atten- 
tion was never before called to a critical notice of the 
derivation and common use of aionion, even in the Classics. 
I am surprised on discovering how unquestionably the 
proper meaning of the word is indefinite duration of time, 
and how commonly the old Greek writers used it in con- 
nection with things and events of limited duration." None 
dissented from this decision, for it had the authority of a 
master upon examination of the record. It may be that I 
was somewhat pleased. 

This school term was to me a pleasant and profitable 
one. 

WATERFOED SCHOOLS —AGAIN. 

On page 61 mention is made of my having engaged the 
schools in three of the Districts in Waterford, including 
the two I had taught before, and the Centre District also, 
including the family of Rev. Mr. Ripley. Such was my 
success at school-keeping in that town, notwithstanding the 
counter-effort of Mr. Ripley's post script. I commenced 
the Temple Hill school the middle of November, and con- 
tinued six weeks, to the last of December ; then kept the 
North-west school January and February ; and the City or 
Centre school, March and April. 

During this winter a small Universalist society was organ- 
ized in the town, — not by my suggestion, but by several 
ardent believers in the universal Saviour, who desired to 
make provision for at least occasional preaching of the 
word. This released them from liability of taxation for 
the support of Mr. Ripley. I was present at the April 
town meeting, when the question came up as to the grant- 



HIS BIRTH AND EARLY DAYS. 



71 



ing of Mr. Ripley's salary for another year. A member 
of the Board of Select Men, who was also a member of 
Mr. R.'s church, spoke against voting the salary, explaining 
that when Mr. R. was settled, it was by a vote of the town, 
and all the citizens were taxed for the pa3^ment of the 
salary. Subsequently a Baptist society was formed, taking 
off a portion of the tax-payers from the Territorial Parish ; 
then a Methodist society, taking away another portion ; — 
and now a Universalist Society had just been formed, 
releasing from the Parish tax another considerable number. 
And he protested against the annual imposition upon a third 
of the people of a burden which was originally assumed 
by the whole town. A majority of the voters appeared to 
be of the same opinion ; for the proposition to assess upon 
the town Rev. Mr. Ripley's salary, was voted down. This 
was virtually his dismissal from the pastorate. He was 
left without employment. And this was the fruit of his 
bigotry and folly, in attempting, by a condemnatory Post 
Script^ to turn the people of his Parish against a yoimg 
candidate for the office of school-teacher, because of his 
religious sentiments. This act of would-be persecution by 
the parson raised and extended the young man's popularity, 
and iDroved his own overthrow. The formation of that 
society, which reduced to a failure the paying forces to Mr. 
Ripley's salary, was not the result of my direct labors. 
But that unlucky Post Script became the cause of an ex- 
citement which stirred up a spirit of inquiry that conduced 
to this result. And the whole case is a testimony to the 
doctrine, that it is the true policy as well as religious duty 
of a Christian young man to be always faithful to his God 
and his religion. One may injure himself and his cause by 
being meddlesome, and querulous; but a firm, modest, 
respectful and devout avowal and maintenance of the en- 



72 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



lightened faith of the gospel, will gain rather than forfeit 
the confidence of the wise and good of all parties. 

It is with pleasure that I am able to record the fact, that 
Rev. Mr. Kipley, after the discontinuance of his Parish 
salar}^, was taken into the patronage of the American 
Missionary Society. 

A. D. 1820. 

Having closed the third of my before mentioned Water- 
ford schools the last of April, and returned to the paternal 
home, I forthwith brought to a point my decision in rela- 
tion to the business of my life, so far as to enter upon pre- 
liminary arrangements for preparator}^ study for the Chris- 
tian ministry. I wrote Rev. Sebastian Streeter, who was 
then Pastor of the Universalist society in Portsmouth, N. 
H., asking leave to make his house my home during the 
ensuing season. He answered me in tones of fatherly 
affection, and bade me come along at once, and enter upon 
my proposed course of reading. From this point I have 
recourse to a regular daily journal, which I commenced at 
this juncture, and will place the date of the j^ears at the 
head of the succeeding pages of this work. 

May 23d. — I started from my father's, in Norway, for 
Portsmouth, N. H. Arrived at Portland before sunset. 

May 24cth. — In the morning, took passage by mail stage 
for Portsmouth, where I arrived about noon. I forthwith 
repaired to father Streeter's house, where I was cordially 
greeted by himself and wife, and inducted into the room 
which was to be my Study for the season. I immediately 
entered upon the reading of ecclesiastical and general his- 
tory ; and the re-perusal of the Scriptures for more critically 
noting the bearings and connections of the parts with each 



A. D. 1820. 



73 



other, and with the whole ; and the construction and 
writing out of sermons. 

As soon as the second Sabbath in June, I commenced 
my Master's work as a preacher of the gospel ; and that in 
Rev. Mr. Streeter's Church. I had it not in mind that I 
should commence preaching until I should have returned, 
in the ensuing autumn, to my native town. But in the 
next week after my arrival at his house, father Streeter 
said to me, " You must preach in my desk Sunday after 
next." "That," I replied, " is joking. I am incompetent 
to commence preaching so soon. And to make my debut 
in so large and popular a city congregation — it is out of 
the question." I spoke as I felt. I was naturally diffident 
and self-distrustful ; and had only been conversant with 
country society. I had attended meeting there one Sun- 
day, and viewed, as a child views wonders, the elegant and 
spacious temple, the far elevated pulpit, and the large and 
fashionably dressed congregation ; and the thought of so 
soon exhibiting myself in that pulpit, before that congrega- 
tion, in the capacity of a preacher, verily appalled me. 
" It is of no use," said I, "to talk about it." 

" Well," said my imperturbable teacher, " I have en- 
gaged to preach on that Sunday in Guilford, N. H. ; and 
my people hold meetings when I am absent on a Sabbath, 
and Br. Drown, or some one, reads a i)rinted sermon, and 
leads in prayer. And they will require these services of 
you ; and why may you not as well read a sermon of your 
own?" Sure enough, why might I not? Yet the reading 
of a sermon of my own would be preaching. And that 
was the idea which embarrassed me. And this question 
pressed itself upon my mind the w^eek through, — Shall 
I PREACH in father Streeter's desk Sunday after next? It 
was urged that I should give an answer before the then 
7 



74 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ensuing Sabbath, that definite notice might be given from 
the desk with regard to the services in the pastor's absence. 
I at length came to the conclusion that, sinli or swim, I 
would undertake the work proposed. The following 
record of that day's service I copy from my Diary : — 

''June, Second Sabbath. — I preached in Rev. Mr. Streeter's 
Meeting House; in the forenoon, from Acts xxvi. 22, 23; and 
in the afternoon, from Mark xvi. 15, 16. * * * In the morning 
I waited with trembling anxiety ; — at length the Church bell 
called me forth. I entered the house of God, and, for the first 
time, ascended the pulpit stairs, I found mj'self seated before 
a large and enlightened audience, as a preacher of the gospel 
of the Lord Jesus. This is a new scene, and a time for serious 
reflections. Here am I, an inexperienced youth, about to arise 
and stand before the great congregation, composed of the aged, 
the middle aged, youth and children, to expatiate on themes 
divine. O, my God ! be thou my Guardian and Teacher, — my 
Confidence and my Strength. Trembhng I arose, and com- 
menced the services of the occasion ; — and soon my fears were 
fled, and the divine subject alone occupied my mind. My 
trepidation turned into enthusiasm, and I felt that, in answer 
to my prayers, the spirit of God was with me." 

The last week in June Br. Streeter attended the East- 
ern Association, in Paris, Me. Having engaged to tarry 
over the succeeding Sabbath, the first in July, and preach 
in Norway, he left his pulpit services at home for that 
Sunday in my care, Br. De La Fayette Mace, of Maine, 
came along Saturday and tarried at Br. Streeter's over 
Sunday. By my invitation he preached in the forenoon 
and evening ; and I preached in the afternoon. The con- 
gregations were large and attentive. 

July 28. — Having received an invitation to spend two or 
three weeks in Rochester, N. H., I took a Dover packet at 
Portsmouth at 12 J o'clock this day, and arrived at Mr. 



A. D. 1820. 



75 



Nathaniel Ela's, Inn-keeper in Dover, N. H., at 31 p. m. 

There I was agreeably entertained until the next afternoon, 
when I was called npon by Mr. Joseph Cross of Rochester, 
and conveyed to his house. Rochester is a country town, 
22 miles from Portsmouth, and 10 from Dover. It contains 
a small village, pleasantly situated. Mr. John Smith's 
house was m}^ home in this place. I preached in the Vil- 
lage School House the last Sunday in July, to a crowded 
audience, among whom were some of my Portsmouth 
friends, who witnessed my first endeavor in that city. 

Here I had another severe trial, it being, in an impor- 
tant respect, another new beginning. When father Streeter 
informed me of the arrangement he had made for me at 
Rochester, he said, " Now, Br. Cobb, the Universalists in 
Rochester have come out from the Methodists and Baptists, 
and inherit their old prejudices against note preaching. 
Their ministers have told them that r-e-a-d don't spell 
preach. You must extemporize." It was a fearful undertak- 
ing ; but I did not hesitate. I had made it my rule of action 
from early boyhood, to take hold, in earnest, of any good 
work assigned me, either by decisive circumstances or by my 
superiors, and that in faith ; — and I never utterly failed. 
In this case, having gone up to Rochester Friday, I had 
Saturday for preparation. With my two manuscript ser- 
mons for the ensuing day, I spent most of Saturday among 
the tall elms in a recently mown interval, and committed 
them to memory as well as might be in so short a time. 
With this preparation, not forgetting my helper, God, I 
went into my appointed meeting at the ringing of the 
Sabbath morning bells, and entered upon the responsible 
duties of the day. In the forenoon, when I had proceeded 
some way in my discourse, having closed a sentence, the 
next my memory failed to grasp. I could not recall it, 



76 



EEV. SYLVA^iUS COBB, D.D. 



and was for a moment, " out of my row," and my head 
commenced twirling. But instantly I bethought myself to 
repeat the last sentence with increased emphasis, as if to 
impress it more effectiveh^ upon the minds of mj hearers. 
/ say — said I ; and proceeded with the repetition of what 
was then so familiar that, while uttering it, I could be 
employing my mind in feeling after what was to follow. 
And I caught it, and proceeded with increased confidence 
and freedom. And I have never, since (and I write this 
with the experience of fort3'-six years in the ministry), I 
have never, since, run upon a hiatus, or lost the thread of 
my discourse, in public speaking. And the task which 
father Streeter enforced upon me at this early da}', has 
proved of incalculable benefit to me, and much to the cause. 
If there had not been a necessity for it, I might not have 
put myself to the requisite efibrt to qualif}' for extempo- 
raneous preaching. B}^ being thus early " broke in," I 
was the better qualified to adapt mj^self to the prejudices 
of the Universalists of Maine, whose primitive preachers 
were all extemporizers ; and also to occupy the positions 
in which I have so often been placed, to speak in jori- 
vate houses, barns, groves, and from the doors of School 
Houses, with a portion of the andience in the house, 
and a portion in the yard. For about five 3'ears, I 
wrote most of my sermons in full, but took not even a 
"brief" with me in the deli ver3^ I did not commit my 
sermons verbatim ; but looked them over after writing, 
and gathered up the succession of points, and fixed these 
in my mind so that I could see the chain at a glance ; and 
then, standing before the people with the spirit of the gen- 
eral theme in the heart, and a desire to possess their minds 
of the truths in charge, in their spu'it and power, the Ian- 



A. D. 1820. 77 

guage in which I had w];itten them came generally into 
familiar use. 

I have spoken of this method as running through the 
first five years of my ministry in my native State. When 
I had been preaching, half of the time, in Waterville, Me., 
about that number of years, I commenced a course of ex- 
pository sermons on the Bible in course, commencing at 
the beginning of G-enesis, and treating on all the passages, 
in consecutive order, which seemed to me to have any con- 
siderable bearing upon doctrines, of faith or practice, 
through to the end of Revelation. The series was com- 
prised in nearly a hundred discourses, — which, as I 
preached but half the time in Waterville, and generally 
delivered these only in the forenoon, run through nearly 
four years. These discourses, in which conciseness, and 
extensive reference, and comparison, and accuracy of 
expression, were indispensable, I delivered from manu- 
script. So, during the ten years of my regular pastorate 
in Maiden, Mass., from 1828 to 1838, the difference in 
circumstances requiring an important difi'erence in the style 
of sermonizing from that which was adapted to my itinerant 
and pioneer labors in Maine, more concise and classical, I 
usually delivered my newly arranged sermons from manu- 
script. 

To return to my debut in Rochester, N. H. The 

Sabbath of which I was speaking passed pleasantly, and 
its experience aff'orded me much assurance of the Divine 
approval of my choice of the Christian ministry as my life- 
labor. I tarried in the place over the week \ preached a 
lecture in the Court House Thursday evening ; and held 
forth again in the School House the next Sunday, which 
was Aug. 6. 

Aug. Itli. — I returned as far as Dover, and delivered a 
7* 



78 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



lecture in the Court House in that place in the evening. I 
was called up at 1 o'clock the next morning to take the 
packet for Portsmouth, where I landed at sunrise. 

I went on a second visit* to Eochester the last of this 
week, and preached in the same School House two more 
Sundays, and in the Court House on the intervening Thurs- 
day evening. 

On my return to Portsmouth, I preached another even- 
ing lecture in the Court House in Dover. A Dr. Dow 
attempted to disturb me in my discourse, by placing him- 
self erect before me, but a few feet distant, staring me in 
the face, and often making an audible remark. At length 
I said, " If the gentleman wishes to make a disturbance, I 
will give way to him now." With his face crimsoning 
with mortification, he sat down. At the close of the ser- 
vice I was informed that the Doctor was a distinguished 
gentleman when sober, and that he was then partially in- 
toxicated. Indeed he came to me the next morning with a 
handsome apology. 

At the close of my discourse, I gave liberty for remarks 
or exhortation. A Freewill Baptist preacher arose and 
harangued vociferously. When he had occupied four or 
five minutes, I, perceiving that he said nothing which bore 
with any force against my sentiments, while he doubtless 
imagined that he was taking me down, as he said, " We 
must have faith ; and faith is the gift of G-od." I shouted, 
"Amen." This embarrassed him; and he sat down sim- 
ultaneously with the utterance of these words: "But I 
know by experience that unless we believe in this world 
we must be eternally miserable." I then arose and re- 
marked to the audience, that I could understand and 
receive all the gentleman's sayings except the last. How 
he could have experienced eternal, by which I took him to 



A. D. 1820. 79 
» 

mean endless misery, for not believing, in this world, I was 
unable to understand, and wished him to explain it. But 
he was silent — and I dismissed the meeting. 

Sunday^ Sept. lltJi. — Br. Streeter being indisposed, and 
this being the last Sabbath I was to tarry with him in my 
preparatory studies, he persuaded me to perform religious 
services in his desk, and he occupied his family pew as a 
hearer. 

MY RETUEN HOME. 

Saturday, Sept. 2Sd. — I went from Portsmouth, N. H., to 
Portland, Me., by stage. It was with saddened feelings 
that I left Portsmouth ; for several circumstances concurred 
strongly to attach me to my friends in that place. Br. 
Streeter was an instrument in the hand of God of clearing 
obstacles from my way, strengthening my hands, confirm- 
ing my heart, and moving me on in the work of the min- 
istry. His amiable family was bound to my heart by ties 
of strong and enduring friendship, and also a large circle 
of brethren and sisters in the faith, with whom I had spent 
many pleasant social hours, who listened respectfully to 
my first public performance in the Christian pulpit, and 
whose conduct towards me on that and all occasions, 
strengthened and encouraged me in my new and responsi- 
ble undertaking. However, I took the remembrance of 
them along with me, shook oflT the pressure of melancholy, 
and cheerily rode again to my loved Maine, and to the 
scenes of my juvenile years. Here I have the nearest rela- 
tions and a host of the dearest of friends, and hither my 
Master's business calls me. 



80 



ItEV. STLVANUS COBB, D,D. 



THE STAY AT PORTLAND. 

But I must needs take Portland on my way ; and Br. 
Streeter had sent an appointment for me to preach in that 
city on the Sabbath. I arrived at Portland about sunset 
this (Saturday) eve, and, according to Br. Streeter's 
direction, called upon Br. Horatio G. Quincy, who intro- 
duced me into the family of Br. Abraham Beeman, my 
assigned home during my tarry in town. 

But I found father Wm. Farwell, of Vermont, at Port- 
land, who had arrived there on one of his preaching cir- 
cuits, and had given out an appointment for the coming 
Sabbath before the notice of my visit was received by the 
friends in that place. Of course I would not even divide 
the day with the old patriarch, but would hear his gospel 
messages in the regular services of the day. I consented, 
however, to preach in the evening. 

Having been long absent from home, I had calculated on 
hastening thither Monday ; but was prevailed upon by the 
solicitations of the Portland brethren to tarry with them 
over the week, and preach there the next Sunday, which 
was the first Sunday in October. We had happy meetings. 

THE INVITATION. 

Monday morning, before I left the city, a Committee 
called upon me, and informed me that they were deputed 
by an extemporaneous meeting of friends held on the pre- 
vious (Sundaj'^) evening, to confer with me on the question 
of my coming to them on the ensuing Spring, when I 
should have closed my school term for which I was en- 
gaged in Norway Village, and becoming their Pastor. 
They were a voluntary association, had employed different 



A. D. 1820. 



81 



preachers transiently, but were then without any arrange- 
ment for preaching. 

I told them that their proposition distressed me ; that 
the thought of tying myself down so soon to the Pastoral 
charge of a city society produced a stifling sensation ; that 
I intended to evangelize over the hills and valleys of Maine 
several years, making the acquaintance of mankind and 
their wants, and gaining exercise as a gospel minister, 
before I would settle myself down thus. I never have 
regretted this resolution and the keeping of it. 

Oct. bth. — I arrived at the old homestead in Norway, 
again to meet with the kindest of parents, and affectionate 
brothers and sisters ; and to roam, in the town whose air 
was the first I breathed, over the fields, hills and dales 
which were my earliest range. 

On the following Sunday I preached in Norway, in the 
first Universalist Meeting House ever built in Maine. It 
excited me with indescribable emotions, to stand there in 
the pulpit of the Barnses, the Roots, the Farwells, and the 
Streeters, and, in the capacity of a minister of the gospel, 
face and address those who had borne me in their arms ere 
I could walk alone ; neighbors who had been familiar with 
my ways from earliest childhood, including the old severe 
school-master who taught me to read and spell my abs, and 
boxed my ears for mistakes ; my father, brothers, citizens 
of all religious denominations, and playmates of all 
grades. And, to add to my trepidation, there were seated 
before me the Preceptor of my previous autumn's Academic 
studies, and a party of his students, my schoolmates, with 
countenances indicating a disposition to listen as critics. 
I spoke without manuscript, and the Lord supported and 
blessed me. It was to me a great day. 

And I may as well record at this stage of progress in my 



82 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



narrative, what I am in duty and honor bound to place prom- 
inently on record, of my appreciation of the noble hearted 
kindness of the members, without exception, of the Uni- 
versalist society in my native town. Several of the elder 
members expressed to me their desire and expectation that 
I should make the ministry my calling, before I had enter- 
tained the thought of doing so myself. And after I 
entered upon the work, they all gave me their sympathy 
and God-speed. There was never, even with those who 
had been my playmates and school-fellows, the least man- 
ifestation of envy, or spirit of detraction in 2iJiy form. 
They all seemed to feel an interest in the honorable suc- 
cess of their own native townsman. Br. Ichabod Bartlett, 
one of the 3^oung men of the society, being Agent of the 
Village District, engaged me, on excellent wages for the 
time, to teach that school three months in the winter ; the 
leading Universalist families in the Village gave me my 
board in rotation, permitting me to draw the board money 
from the Town Treasury in addition to my salary. At the 
same time the society kept me at preaching nearly all the 
Sabbaths, rendering me what, for the time and the circum- 
stances, was a liberal compensation, three dollars a Sab- 
bath. This, I say, was, for the time and circumstances, 
a liberal compensation. For the regular stipend per week, 
in those daj^s, for the veteran preachers, the Roots, 
Barnses, Farwells, &c., was but five dollars. At that 
price the Norway society had only been able to have 
preaching one Sunday in a month ; so that, to pay this 
stripling, who had come up among themselves, and was 
engaged, on good wages, in school keeping, three dollars a 
week regularly, was indeed generous. Altogether the 
funds which my friends here put me in the way of acquiring 
this winter, enabled me to pay up all arrearages of my 



A. D. 1820. 



83 



educational expenditures, and to start out into the world 
with an elastic step. God's blessing forever upon the 
Universalist society in Norway. Whatever of good may 
accrue to the world from my humble professional labors, is 
owing in a great measure, under God, to the early encour- 
agement and support to their child, of the Universalist 
society in Norway. 

I will now return to the point of my Journal from which 
I diverged for my panegyric upon the Norway society. 

I had described my debut in Norway in the capacity of 
a preacher, the second Sunday in October. I preached 
there also on the third and fourth Sundays in October; 
delivered a lecture in Enoch Edwards' neighborhood in 
Otisfield on the 19th ; and a lecture in Fryeburg on the 
27th. 

NOVEMBER, 1820. 

FIRST MISSIONARY TOUR. 

This month comprised my first missionary tour -in the 
capacity of a Christian Evangelist. One of the primitive 
members of the Universalist society, Nathaniel Bennett, 
hearing that I purposed making such a tour, tendered me 
the use of a young horse, scarcely broken to the saddle, 
for the excursion in equestrian style. My purpose was to 
extend my tour eastward as far as Waterville, making calls 
on the way in Livermore and Winthrop, where I had been 
informed of the existence of Universalist societies. (I 
was in no danger of intruding upon any other preacher's 
charge, for there was not at the time a settled Universalist 
preacher in the State of Maine. Dr. Joseph Butterfi'eld, 
who itinerated somewhat, was residing in Fryeburg ; Fay- 



84 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



ette Mace, of Strong, had preached a few times, but was 
doing nothing ; and Wm. A. Drew, then teacher of an 
Academy in Farmington, had conducted Sabbath services 
a few times in that town. Fathers Thomas Barnes and 
Isaac Root, who were energetic and efficient laborers in 
their time, had passed away from this field of labor. Thus 
nearly destitute of public servants was the Universalist 
Zion of the Pine Tree State," when I entered upon my 
ministerial profession.) 

I started on mj tour about the middle of the week, that 
I might have time to get up an appointment, with suitable 
notices, for the Sabbath. I had been furnished, by some 
Norway friend, with the name of Abijah Munroe, of Liv- 
ermore, as a leading Universalist. He kept a tavern, and 
a minister's home. The name of Israel Washburn, Esq., 
was also given me, as a working brother in the faith. He 
was the father of Israel Washburn, Jr., who has repre- 
sented his District in Congress several terms, and sustained 
the office of Governor of his State several years. Another 
of his sons has represented a District of Illinois in Con- 
gress a series of 3'ears. I called upon these gentlemen, 
and received a cordial welcome to the hospitalities of their 
homes. I found in them responsive spirits to the love of 
the gospel ; and they arranged and duly notified for a 
meeting on the Sabbath, when I preached to good congre- 
gations. 

Early in the week I proceeded on my way to Winthi'op. 
Passing through Eeadfield, I called upon John Smith, Esq., 
an intelligent, wealth}^ and zealous friend of the cause. 
He made me feel at home at his house, where I tarried by 
his invitation several daj^s. In compliance with his 
arrangements I preached two evening lectures in the large 
School House of the Village, which was called " Readfield 



A. D. 1820. 



85 



Corner." The acquaintance thus earty formed with him 
contributed greatly to my subsequent benefit. 

The latter part of the week I rode down to Winthrop, 
six miles, where I preached on the Sabbath. This was the 
second Sabbath in November, 1820. A snow storm pre- 
vailed through the day ; but we had pleasant meetings in 
a Brick School House. Jacob Nelson, John Morrill, E. 
Snell, Abial Pitts, Perlej^, Fairbanks and Fillebrown were 
leading members of this society. 

Nov. 14. — 1 delivered an evening lecture in a School 
House in Winthrop, near Br. Elliot Snell's. 

16th. — I left Winthrop on my way for Waterville, via 
Hallowell. Br. Glidden advised me to go by the back 
road through Sidney, and call ujDon Capt. Nathan Sawtell, 
who was a prominent Universalist, and attended the meet- 
ings, of our order in Waterville, where I proposed to get 
up an appointment for the next Sabbath. The following I 
copy from my original Journal, which is a transcript of the 
life of the day as it was : — 

*' The badness of the roads made riding slow and tedious. 
The shoes of my borrowed colt were smooth ; the recently fallen 
snow and sleet had made the roads slippery; and the riding 
upon saddle was attended with some danger. I became uncom- 
monly weary before I reached Capt. Sawtell's, and my spirits 
were sorely depressed. The prospect appeared dark ; and 
clouds of gloom hung over my mind. I saw no beings but 
strangers ; and none ahead knew that I was coming, — or even 
that such a person existed. (It was a new thing to go out into 
a strange country, and introduce myself as a preacher of the 
gospel. There was no denominational paper circulating in the 
State through which to notify appointments or proposed tours, 
or even to announce to the members of societies, and the believ- 
ers scattered abroad, the advent of the new preacher. Nor was 
there even an older preacher in the State who could be of ser- 
vice to me in the way of my introduction to a field of labor.) 
8 



86 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



"To return to my narrative: — I inquired impatiently and 
looked wistfully for the residence of Capt. Sawtell. But 
when I had turned up into the lane leading to his house, I had 
sad misgivings ; and seeing the old gentleman withiug up the 
stakes of his pigs' pen, with a stern countenance and a face 
unshaven for the week, I expected a reiDulse. The following 
colloquy ensued : — 

"'Is this Capt. Sa^i;ell ? ' 

" 'My name is Sawtell.' 

" ' My name is Sylvanus Cobb. I am on my way to Water- 
ville to spend the Sabbath, and Br. Glidden, of Winthrop, ad- 
vised me to call upon you.' 

" ' What ! are you a preacher ? ' 

" ' I have preached a little.' 

" ' Well, come, get off your horse and come in, and spend the 
night with me. You will find homelj^ fare. But it will be good 
enough for you if you are a Universalist j)reacher.' 

" I can report nothing more that was said, in detail, for I was 
enchanted with the scenes of a new state of being. The un- 
studied, unpolished address of the old Saint, which was the out- 
gushing of the genuine spirit of confidence and love, toned by 
emotions of joy at the appearance of a young minister of the 
universal and efficient Saviour, instantly dissipated the cloud 
from my mind, banished my distrust, and made me a lively child 
at home. It would be difficult to decide which of us two was 
made most happy by our meeting together, and by the conver- 
sation of the evening. It was a pleasant occasion to me. " 

Nov. 16f7i. — It was now Wednesday; so that I had time 
to go up to Waterville, yet ten miles, and make the acquaint- 
ance there of several brethren, and get out good notice of 
the preaching, before the Sabbath. Capt. Sawtell furnished 
me with the names of several of the leading members of 
the Waterville societj^, among whom, in the East Village, 
were Alpheus Lyon, Esq., Maj. EichaM Montgomery Dorr, 
Maj. Ebenezer Balcomb, and Elah Est}' ; and in the West 
part of the town, Thos. Cook, Mrs. Elizabeth McFarland, 
and Elisha Hallett. 



A. D. 1820. 



87 



Sunday^ Nov. 20. — I preached in the East Village Meet- 
ing House in Waterville. Br. Thomas Cook, who lived 
about two miles out, took me home with him after the ser- 
vices, with whom I had a pleasant home for the night. 

Monday morning. — Maj. Balcomb rode out from the Vil- 
lage early, that he might see me before I should start on 
my homeward way, and proposed inquiries in relation to 
the probability of my willingness to enter into a regular 
engagement with them on the ensuing season, after closing 
my Winter school in Norway. 

Capt. Sawtell did not allow the opportunity to slip, for 
having a message from the j^oung preacher in his neighbor- 
hood. He had an appointment for me to preach in his 
District School House this Monday evening. When I had 
closed my services, a young Baptist preacher by the name 
of Samuel Dinsmore charged me with speaking peace when 
the Lord had not spoken peace. I asked him to inform us 
when and on what conditions the Lord had spoken peace. 
But his only reply was a farious rush out of doors. 

Tuesday evening., 22d. — I preached a lecture in Read- 
field. Thence I proceeded to the old home, terminating 
my first missionary tour, which furnished me with much 
work, an important quantity of experience, and valuable 
acquaintance which opened to me a field of abundant and 
permanent labor to be forthwith entered, on the ensuing- 
spring, at the close of my previously engaged term of 
school-keeping in Norway Village. 

Dec. lltJi. — I commenced teaching in the public school 
in Norway Village, for a three months' term. It was, to 
me, an interesting school. I had the attendance of several 
young gentlemen and ladies older than usually attended 
the Common Schools, who were advanced scholars in the 
higher English branches of education. Yet my charge was 



88 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



exceedingly laborious, — the number of scholars averaging 
about eighty, and the School House being cold, and the 
benches rickety, as it was about to be displaced by a new 
one, and therefore the Committee would not spend money 
to put it in decent repair. 

1821. 

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. 

I continued my school in Norway through these two 
months, and preached every Sabbath, and also some week 
evening lectures. Most of my ministerial labors were 
occupied with the Norway societ}^ ; but I preached a few 
times in Paris and Waterford. 

Marcli Q>tli. — I closed my school in Norway. And this 
terminated my mission, in which I had taken great pride, 
and not a little pleasure, in the capacity of the School 
Master. 

And here, I will record my speculative and practical 
theory of school government, as it regards the use of 
corporeal punisliment as a disciplinary instrumentalit}^ I 
never emphasized it as a prominent governing force, nor 
named it as a fixed penalty for the transgression of any 
standing law. But I held it as my right and duty to em- 
ploy such punishment at my option, whenever I judged it 
to be requisite to break down a stubborn and brutally insub- 
ordinate spirit. It was my dernier resort. And, in my 
four long winter seasons of school keeping, I administered 
corporeal punishment but in very few instances. I can 
now remember but two in all. And these were cases in 
which I was necessitated to it by extreme perversity and 
insolence, when I had exhausted " moral suasion," and 
further forbearance on my part would have been tameness 



A. D. 1821. 



89 



and submission. But I did not strike a blow (the ferule 
was the instrument), until I had, by affecting conversation, 
softened my indignation into tenderness, explained to the 
subjects of the punishment that they had forced upon me 
this painful service for their good and that of the school. 
And then I made thorough work of it, continued the appli- 
cation to the attainment of humble submission. Thus was 
my authority strengthened, and the school benefited. 

But the general absence of beating and threshing did not 
involve looseness of school government. I did not and 
could not go on with the exercises of the school in disorder. 
The scholars were trained to a feeling and habit of oneness 
with me in the love and choice of order. The}^ were a 
little self-governing republic. Whenever I was called to 
the outer door to receive and answer the verbal communi- 
cation of a friend, the school would continue busied in their 
studies in the same beautiful order as when I stood in my 
desk with my eyes upon them. It was m}^ happiness to 
enjoy the mutual confidence and love of master and school. 

THE OPENING TO MINISTEEIAL LABOR. 

Some time during my school term, I received a letter 
signed by John Smith, of Keadfield, and John Morrill, of 
Winthrop, as Committee of the Universalist Society of 
Readfield and Winthrop, informing me that the Eastern 
Association of Universalists was to meet in Winthrop the 
last AVednesday and Thursday in June proximo, and invit- 
ing me to visit tliem forthwith after closing my school, and 
preach with them regularly till the meeting of the Associa- 
tion. This call was an out-growth of m}^ November tour 
eastward. 

March 9t7i. — This day I left Norway for my new but 
8* 



90 



REV. SYLVANUS COBBy D.D. 



temporary field of labor, distinctively in the capacity of a 
Christian minister, in compliance with the call above noted. 
And, though I did not contemplate the movement in that 
light at the time, a recognition of which would have over- 
whelmed me with sadness, — it proved to be my final de- 
parture from my native town as my stated home. It fills 
me with indescribable emotions now, when I bring it be- 
fore me at this writing, 45 years afterwards. Blessed 
home it was to my early j^ears ! A noble community was 
that town. I have borne only pleasant memories of it.* 

On my way to my new field of labor, I preached an 
evening lecture at the house of Br. Joshua Whitman in 
Turner, and spent a Sabbath's labor in Livermore. 

* NOTE BY THE MEMOIRIST. 

Nearly half a century had elapsed when Mr. Cobb made his last visit to the 
scenes of those early days. He had, as often as was consistent with other du- 
ties, been in the habit of revisiting the old home, to draw inspiration from the 
hallowed influences that clustered about the place of that family altar where 
first he had been taught to raise iiis voice in prayer and praise to God, and where 
had been bestowed upon him the priceless inheritance of parental love. One 
after another of those whom he had loved had fallen asleep upon the verge of 
the dark valley, to awaken in the brighter realm beyond; but still there were 
loved ones left to welcome him whenever he came to his native town. "iVhen he 
made this last visit I had my home in the tOAvn of Norway, and of course it was 
beneath my roof that he sought shelter and repose. The old burial-ground, 
where the mortal remains of his departed kindred had been placed in sepulchre, 
away on the summit of a distant hUl, he had not visited since the death of 
his brother Cyrus , and he expressed to me the wish that I would walk up there 
with him. 

It was a calm, beautiful afternoon in October. The sun was sinking towards 
the tops of the White Mountains, that loomed up in the dim distance as though 
offering their bed of purple down to the departing monarch of the day, and the 
broad line of forest that flanked the adjacent fields was robed in its rich garnish- 
ment of beautifully varjang and softly harmonizing autumnal tints. As we ap- 
proached the hallowed spot our conversation was dropped, and when we came 
to thread the grassy aisles that wound around among the clustering graves our 
steps were slow and solemn. I caught my cue from the manner of him who led 
the way. Other graves were noted before we came to the gentle mounds that 
arose above the mouldering remains of those to whose resting-places the sweet 
sentiment of filial love would incline us. Here rested all that was mortal of a 
school-mate whom my father had loved in those other years ; there reposed tlie 
remains of one who had been his friend and benefactor; and anon we came to a 
stone which bore the name of one who had received benefit at his hands. And 



A. D. 1821. 



91 



From this time I devoted my Sabbath labors constantly 
to the united society of Winthrop and Readfield, to the 
last of June, when the annual meeting of the Eastern 
Association was held in Winthrop. 

May 8t7i. — By invitation of Samuel Locke, Esq., of 
Hallo well, I delivered an evening lecture in the " Reading 
Room " in that place, which was the first Universalist dis- 
course preached in Hallowell. My text was Ps. Ixii. 12 : 
"Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy : for thou ren- 
derest to every man according to his work." On the suc- 
ceeding evening, May 9th, I preached a lecture in a School 
House at the Forks of the Roads in Hallowell. 

May 31 St. — Journeying on the way to visit my parents 

so we moved on, untU at length we reached the marble slab that bore the name 
of my father's honored brother. And here he told to me how true and faithful 
that brother had been; and how, through all the days and years of their boyhood 
together there had not been one single passage of ill that could now give pain in 
the recollection. 

Near at hand were two grey, mossy stones, one marking where reposed the 
ashes of" A Soldier of the Revolution," and the other, the resting-place of the 
remains of the companion. Two graves hallowed and sanctified ! As my father 
slowly, and with reverent steps, approached them, I saw that his lips trembled, 
and that his eyes were flooded. His manner invited no mortal companionship, 
and I withdrew to a respectful distance to view the scene. A few moments he 
stood, with his head bowed, and his hand resting upon the stone that bore his 
father's name ; and then he moved on a pace and leaned upon the tablet where- 
on was inscribed the name of his mother. Then I saw him uncover his head, and 
sink upon his knees ; and, as even now while I write, the tears gather in my 
eyes, so they gathered then until my vision became dim and uncertain, and I 
bowed my head in silent sympathy with him whose soul was in sweet and holy 
commuijion with the spirits of another world I 

The sun had sunk to its rest when my father arose to his feet; and silently we 
wended our way from the consecrated ground. Away upon the distant moun- 
tains, where the lord of day had taken his departure, the heavens were bathed 
in richest effulgence, giving to us token that the bright orb had lost none of its 
glory ; and though the night was coming, yet beyond the verge of our narrow 
ken, new-born splendors were rejoicing other eyes. 

In all the time to come I think there can be no memory of the past that shall 
throw around my father's form for me so much of simple grandeur and hallowed 
import, as shall the memory of that time when I saw him, with his head bare 
and bent, reverently kneel in prayer at the graves of his revered and ever hon- 
ored parents 1 S. C, Jr. 



92 



HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



in Norway, in passing through Backfield Village I was 
recognized by Dr. Bridgham, who prevailed upon me to 
tarry and preach in that village in the evening, and forth- 
with sent out notices of the meeting. We had a good 
gathering, in the Academy building. 

June. — On the Second Sunday in this month I preached 
in Waterville, being invited by the Committee of the soci- 
etj^ there to do so, for the attainment of a further acquaint- 
ance with reference to subsequent arrangements. On my 
way out I visited Hallowell again, and preached two suc- 
cessive evening lectures, one on each side of the river. 

THE EASTERN ASSOCIATION. 

The following I copy from my Journal : — 

" June 26t7i. — The following brethren, viz., Russell Streeter, 
Wm. Frost, Fayette Mace, Wm. A. Drew, and Joseph Butter- 
field, met me at the house of Br. Jacob Nelson, in Winthrop, 
and formed a constitution for the future regulation of the East- 
ern Association of Universalists. 

''27th. The Association met as per adjournment of the last 
year. The public services were as follows : — 

In the forenoon, sermon by Br. Mace, from Rom. viii. 16, 

17. 

** In the afternoon Br. Streeter preached, from Isa. xxxv. 10. 

" In the evening a discourse was delivered by Br. Levi 
Briggs, a visiting clergyman from Orange, Mass., from Eph. 
vi. 14. 

"MY ORDINATION. 

" Thursday the 28tJi. — In the forenoon, Br. Drew preached, 
from John xix. 30. 

"After the sermon Br. Fayette Mace and myself were pub- 
licly and in due form ordained to the work of the Gospel Min- 
istry. 

"The Ordaining Prayer was offered by our most worthy 
Brother, Wm. Frost, of Lisbon. 



A. D. 1821. 



93 



*' Charge, by Br. J. Butterfield, of Farmington. 
** Right Hand of Fellowship, by Br. Levi Briggs, of Orange, 
Mass." 

The following reflections I penned in my Journal at this 
point : — 

" How great is the responsibility which we have taken nppn 
ourselves. How important the work to which we are thus 
formally ordained, and in which we have thus solemnly pledged 
ourselves to be faithful. May the God of all power and grace 
hold our hands and keep us, ' so that we may finish our course 
with joy, and the ministry that we have received of the Lord 
Jesus, to testify of the gospel of the grace of God.' " 

The following is my original Journal of the close of that 
Associational meeting : — 

"After service we retired to the Council Hall, closed the 
business of the session, and adjourned to meet in Turner the 
last Wednesday and Thursday of June 1822. The ministering 
brethren found it an affecting occasion when they took leave of 
each other. But we hope to meet again on earth : if not we 
shall meet in our Father's kingdom above. 

* Our hearts were warm, our bosoms glowed, 
And tears of friendship freely flowed. 
But then we turned our thoughts above, 
And smiled for joy in Jesus' love." 

At this point of time I had closed my engagement with 
the Winthrop and Readfield society. The Committee 
originally asked for my services up to the meeting of the 
Association. By a new arrangement I continued to preach 
for them about once a month the rest of this and through 
the succeeding year. But from this time, after ,a few 
weeks spent in visiting the scenes of my childhood, and 
preaching to the beloved people there, I took up my abode 
in Waterville, and made that my home for about seven 



94 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



years. The Committee of the Waterville society came to 
the Association at Winthrop, instructed to engage me if 
practicable, to go and dwell with them, and preach for 
them one half of the time. Such an engagement was con- 
summated. 

But before passing on to the journal of the succeeding 
stage of my life labors, I must tarry and place on record 
m}^ grateful appreciation of the friendships here formed, 
and an incident or two of my experience, in this first field 
of my pastoral services. During this three months' term, 
in the responsible ministerial charge of a religious society", 
I shared the undeviating fraternal sj^mpathy and kind 
regards of the people of my charge, and the respectful 
attentions of the citizens of all denominations. I was 
informed that Parson Thurston, the Trinitarian Congrega- 
tional clerg3"man of Winthrop, Pastor of the "Town 
Parish," for what ultimate purpose it is not necessary for 
me to hint, wrote his brother in ecclesiastical fellowship, 
Dea. Beuj. Herring, of Norway, and of the School District 
in which I was born and reared, asking in relation to the 
character of the young Universalist preacher then in his 
field of labor. The answer was such that it was not 
deemed politic by the parson to make public report of it ; 
but he showed it to some of his friends who reported to my 
friends, that Dea. Herring wrote in answer that the 3^oung 
man in question had been noted in childhood for manliness 
and virtuous living, admonishing the Parson that he would 
never succeed in diminishing his ministerial influence by 
any overhauling of his moral character. That he regarded 
as invulnerable. The reader may be assured that I was 
caused by this incident to profoundly appreciate the value 
to myself, my religious friends, and the cause of which I 
was an ambassador, of the character of my childhood and 



A. D. 1821. 



95 



youth. If that cletemQined enemy of the great and glori- 
ous faith which I preached, liad been able to pick up even 
a juvenile error or youthful indiscretion in my then past 
life, he would undoubtedly have reported it to my preju- 
dice. Yerily the Universalist preacher should be sanctified 
from the womb. 

Another more important incident in the relation between 
me and Parson Thurston was the following ; — I was 
spending an evening with Br. John Morrill, about a mile 
north-west of Winthrop Village. After supper he re- 
marked to me that Parson Thurston had an appointment 
for a lecture that evening in the School House of that Dis- 
trict, and proposed that we should go in and hear him. I 
cheerfully accepted the proposition. Mr. Thurston extem- 
porized, and floundered about in the vain effort to address 
to th'e understanding the idea of the ability of totally 
depraved mortals to perform all the moral requirements of 
their heavenly Father, and thus secure by obedience the 
title to eternal salvation ; while at the same time all self- 
reliance in relation to this great work is sin. After the 
benediction, Br. Morrill introduced me to Mr. Thurston. 
He seemed embarrassed by my presence, and apologized 
for his performance, saying that he came prepared with a 
sermon ; but, on account of the smallness of the number 
present, and not knowing that I was there, he substituted 
an extemporaneous discourse on a subject with which he 
was not familiar, and on which of course he could not 
speak with ease. I assured him that I understood how to 
make due allowance for such circumstances ; that I had no 
disposition to criticise his manner; that my only difficulty 
was with the sentiment of his discourse. He respectfully 
inquired what were my objections to that. I replied that 
I knew not that I should have any objection to the matter 



96 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



of his discourse if I could understand it : that he had told 
us that God had provided in Christ a way of salvation for 
all men ; and that waj'', the only way of salvation, was 
faith and repentance, which is altogether the gift of God, 
or the work of his grace, by the power of his spirit : yet 
he restricted final salvation to a small portion of t)ur race. 
But if the way of salvation is provided in God's purpose 
of grace in Christ for all, and that way is the gift of faith 
and repentance, or of spiritual regeneration, through the 
effectual working of the Divine Spirit of grace, I could not 
understand how he could resist the faith of universal salva- 
tion. He rejoined that he would like to converse with me 
on that subject, and on religious doctrines in general. 
And he invited me to call and spend a day with him, at his 
house, in religious conversation. I respectfully accepted 
the invitation ; and we agreed upon the day. It was 
understood that I should have a friend accompany me, call 
in the forenoon early, dine with him, and spend the day. 

At the set time I was knocking at the parson's outer 
door, accompanied by a Br. Fairbanks, a most worthy 
member of my societ}^, whose given name I do not remem- 
ber. Parson Thurston received us cordially, and soon we 
were seated in the Study, and engaged in theological dis- 
cussion. 

The first topic on the tapis was the doctrine of innate 
total depravity. This he held as an essential doctrine of 
Christian theology ; and he argued for it with much inge- 
nuity. We continued the discussion of this topic all the 
forenoon. As I perceived that dinner was being laid upon 
the table, I said to the Parson that we had well-nigh ex- 
hausted the arguments, pro and con., upon that subject; 
and I desired to advance to the discussion of other impor- 
tant points of doctrine in the afternoon ; and I would state 



A. D. 1821. 



97 



an illustrative case bearing upon this point, his decision of 
which should close this branch of the discussion. I pro- 
ceeded as follows : — 

Suppose a young man is passing by the garden of a 
neighbor, and his attention is attracted by the apparently 
delicious fruit with which a tree in that garden is loaded, 
and he desires to pluck and eat of it. But he is checked 
by the law in his mind, which has been imprinted there by 
education, forbidding theft as wrong. Now we will criti- 
cally inquire, wherein is the sin if the young man yields to 
his desire, and partakes of the fruit? Is there any sin in 
the fruit? None. Is the young man's taste for good fruit 
sinful? Surely not. Is the act of eating fruit sinful? 
All will answer, no. Where then is the sin, if sin ensues ? 
It is in the unlawful manner of obtaining the fruit, taking 
the property of another without his leave. 

But before the youth 3delds to the temptation to partake 
of this fruit unlawfully, the law of the conscience yet hold- 
ing him back, suppose he turns and looks upon his father's 
garden upon the other side of the street, and sees there a 
tree loaded with fruit every way as strongly inviting, to 
which he has free access by the kind permission of his 
father, and he knows that it will be gratifying to his father 
for him to enjoy himself in feasting upon that fruit. So 
there is nothing now to turn the scale, and determine the 
youth from which tree to gratify his strong and lawful 
appetite, but the law which had been holding him back from 
his neighbor's tree. " Now to which," I questioned my 
venerable opponent, " to which tree will he go for his 
repast ? " 

"Why," he replied, "as jou have stated the case, he 
will of course resort to his father's fruit tree." " Then 
where," I inquired, "is your doctrine of innate total de- 
9 



98 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



pravity? If he were radically depraved, if he were nat- 
urally and constitutionally disposed to wrong, and in love 
with sin, the very fact that it is wrong to steal the fruit 
from his neighbor's garden would determine him to that 
act." 

" Wh}^," rejoined the Parson, " we never meant to be 
understood as believing in any such thing as ptire malevo- 
lence in man ; a choice of wrong for the sake of the wrong." 
" Very well," I replied ; " I am perfectly satisfied to leave 
our discussion of this point, as I promised, with your deci- 
sion on the case I would propose for trial. You do oiot 
believe in total innate depravity, or the natural love and 
preference for sin as sin. Man is induced by temptation, 
against his better nature, to violate the laws of God. As 
St. James says, ' he is drawn away of his own lust, and 
enticed.' Much controversy results from the misuse of 
terms. Revise jour theological formula on this point, and 
conform it to your real views which you have now exposed, 
and you and I will have no occasion for controversy on the 
subject of human depravity." 

The afternoon was devoted to miscellaneous discussions. 
I put him up to hard efforts to harmonize his Hopkinsian 
Calvinism with the Scriptures and with itself; and he 
gave me the usual running catalogue of fragmentary Scrip- 
ture quotations to explain in harmony with Universalism. 
Whatever of social intercourse subsequent opportunities 
afforded v/as mutually respectful and pleasant. 

MY HOME IN WATERVILLE. 

About the middle of July (1821), I took with me my 
team (horse and chaise), my little library, and my change 
of raiment, which constituted the whole of my inheritance, 



A. D, 1821. 



99 



and planted m^^self in Waterville as a citizen and a Pastor. 
I engaged to preach in Waterville one half of the time, 
two thirds of the half in the East Village, which is situated 
at the head of boat navigation on Kennebec River, and one 
third in the West Meeting House, four miles back, where 
there is a little business centre, sustained by grist and saw 
mills, and a few stores. The Meeting Houses were both 
owned by the town, and the worse for wear. That in the 
East Village was kept in a comfortable condition ; but that 
in the West was greatly out of rejpair. As no particular 
society had control of it, my friends would only spend 
enough upon it to keep out the storms. 

During this summer and autumn, what portion of the 
time I spent in Waterville, I received gratuitous board, by 
kind invitation, in the families of Maj. Richard M. Dorr, 
Maj. Ebenezer Balcomb, and others, in the East Village ; 
and of Elisha Hallett, Esq., and others, in the West part 
of the town. 

August. — On the first Sunday, after the usual public 
services in Waterville, I rode to Sidney, ten miles, and 
delivered an evening lecture in the Brick School House 
near Capt. Sawtell's. The Baptist Elder, Wilbur, his Dea- 
con, and several members of his church, attended. After 
public service I had some conversation with Elder Wilbur, 
chiefly on the relation of all men to God as their Creator, 
and on the creature or creation in Rom. viii. ; — subjects 
which I had touched upon in my discourse. Anxious to 
invalidate the force of this testimony in proof of the ulti- 
mate spiritual regeneration and glory of all of human kind, 
he first assumed that the creation, in that case, means all 
created things, animate and inanimate. I pressed him to 
say whether he believed the inanimate things are to become 
capable of enjoying the glorious liberty of the children 



lOO 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



of God, and are to be raised into that dignity. He would 
not be so foolish as to say this ; and then he varied his 
position, and interpreted the " creature " or " whole crea- 
tion" of this chapter to mean the whole animate creation, 
human and brute. But he found it equally difficult, on 
reflection, to stand up to the folly of assuming that all 
brute creatures are to be elevated to the estate of sons 
of God ; and he felt obliged to admit the view which I 
had taken of the passage referred to, viz., that the sub- 
ject of the apostle is the human creation, who are the prop- 
er subjects of the Christian ministr}^, which proclaims this 
great emancipation as the purpose of God in Christ. 

On the second Sunday in August (1821), I preached in 
LiGONiA, which is about twelve miles east of Waterville. 
The name of the town has since been changed to Albion. 
I delivered a lecture in the same place Saturday evening. 
This lecture was understood to be the first Universalist 
sermon preached in that town. I shall make note of my 
ministerial labors more extensively than would otherwise 
be appropriate, for the reason that I performed much 
pioneer service, and the Journal of my ministerial labors 
will furnish much material for a history of Universalism 
and the Universalist denomination in Maine. 

THE OTHER PREACHERS. 

During a -few of the early years of my ministry, there 
was no other laborious itinerant Universalist preacher in 
Maine. Rev. Tho. Barnes, commonly called " Father 
Barnes," who was the first resident regular preacher of this 
faith in that State, had passed away. He commenced his 
residence in Poland, Me., in 1799 ; and received ordina- 
tion in Gray, Me., Jan. 6th, 1802. For many years he 



A. I). 1821. 



101 



preached ill Norway, Falmouth, New Gloucester and Free- 
port, about a quarter of the time in each place. His 
daughter says in her Memoir of him, " At the earnest 
solicitation of the Eastern brethren, he paid several visits 
to Belgrade, Waterville and Farmington, but never jour- 
ne3^ed any farther eastward." He died Oct. 3d, 1816, aged 
66 years. , 

Rev. Eussell Streeter came to Portland in the winter of 
1821, while I was school keeping and preaching in Norway ; 
but his whole time was occupied there as settled Pastor, and 
he only went into the country occasionally, on a flying visit 
for a single appointment, by special arrangement. Dr. 
Joseph Butterfield, who came from the Baptists into our 
denomination, yet lived at Fryeburg, and preached a little, 
but was of no account in effective service. Fayette Mace, 
who was ordained with me at Winthrop, did nothing in 
Maine, nor much anywhere else. In a little while he 
became lost to our ministry, and buried in the society 
of Shakers. Rev. Wm. A. Drew, so well known as a 
long and faithful laborer in his Master's vineyard, com- 
menced holding and conducting meetings in Farmington 
in 1820 ; but he had charge of the Farmington Academy 
for some time, which confined him at home. And when he 
had disencumbered himself of that charge, his health was 
so feeble that he could not go out into the field of hard 
itinerant labor. This work in the State devolved mainly 
upon me, who, with humble abilities, possessed great 
physical endurance, and ardent zeal. 

EXTENSION OF MY FIELD OF LABOR. 

In October of this year (1821), I made a preaching tour 
east of the Kennebec, which was introductory to a bi- 
9* 



102 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



monthly series of tours in this region, widening in their 
extent, for five j^ears. And soon these tours toolv in a 
line of lectures, outward bound, down the valle}^ of the 
Kennebec, in Augusta, Hallowell, Gardiner, Bowdoinham, 
Bath (sometimes in Brunswick) ; and in Wiscasset and 
Bristol on the way from the RiA*er towns into the eastern 
field. In my Journal I find the following entry, — which 
is a moderate specimen of the general run of my Diary, 
exhibiting the persistence and continuity of my labors 
during all the years of my ministry in Maine ; — 

"OCTOBER, 1821. 

''First Sunday.— I delivered two discourses in Livermore. 

" This week I visited Br. Wm. A. Drew in Farmington. He 
has charge of the Academy in that place, and preaches there on 
the Sabbath days. 

" Second Sunday. — Preached two discourses in Readfield. 

"loth.— An evening discourse in Hallowell, South Reading 
Room. 

" 16th.— An evening lecture in Hallowell, east of the River. 

" 17th.— Having received invitations from unknown friends in 
New Castle, Kobleborough, and Union, to visit those places and 
expound to them the word of Christian revelation, I now started 
out on a considerable tour east of the Kennebec. In these, as in 
all my subsequent and extended labors in this dnection, I was 
acting the pioneer of our cause. Father Barnes, as his daughter 
says, never extended his missionary tours farther east than 
Waterville. 

" Third Sunday.— 1 preached in Xew Castle two discourses; 
and ' a third discourse in i^obleborough, at Damariscotta 
Bridge. 

"22d.— A lecture in Back Meadow neighborhood, in Noble- 
borough. 

"23d.— A lecture in Bristol. The venerable Commodore 
Samuel Tucker, of Revolutionary memory, whose residence 
was in that neighborhood, was an earnest and tearful listener to 
the discourse, and took me to his hospitable abode, where he 



A. D. 1821. 



103 



insisted on my abiding over the succeeding day and night, and 
entertained me delightfully with spirited and life-like rehearsals 
of his naval exploits in our Revolutionary war with England." 

From this time onward the several years that I continued 
my tours in this region, I delivered one or two evening 
lectures in Bristol on nearly every tour. And Com. 
Tucker, and his grandson, Hines, were leading spirits in 
the procurement and support of those lectures. 

'■'Fourth Sunday, — Two discourses in Union. 
" 30tli.— An evening discourse in Union, in a School House 
east of the Common. " 

Here ends that October ; in which month I preached 
fourteen sermons, spread over a wide field, nearly all of 
which were addressed to congregations mostly composed 
of new inquirers, and jn part of those who came out of 
curiosity to hear " strange things." And intervening, 
between the discourses, much private conversation de- 
volved upon me. 

But that tour extended a few days into November. So 
my Journal reports it. 

" November 2d. — A lecture in Sweetland's (Baptist) Meeting- 
House in Hope. First Sunday (that is, in November), preached 
in Union." 

" Though in this quarter they had heard false and evil re]3orts 
of the doctrine of God's universal and efficient goodness and 
grace, and had heard but little of the truth of it, yet great num- 
bers flocked together to hear the word, and many were so happy 
as to receive it into believing hearts." 

The Diary adds, — "The remainder of this month I 
preached in Waterville." 

My friends in Waterville sympathized with me in my 
missionary work ; so that they cheerfully consented that I 
should so divide the time between them and the various 



104 REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

portions of my missionary field, as should best accommo- 
date my work in its wholeness. The}^ would have their 
half of the Sundaj^s, of course ; but not always in regular 
order. The variations, however, were exceptional. Usu- 
ally I preached the first and second Sundays in each month 
abroad, and the third and fourth at home. This method 
was generally more convenient than would have been the 
preaching at home and abroad on alternate Sabbaths. For 
often I had two Sabbath engagements near together, yet 
both far from home, where they could be embraced in one 
tour to the saving of much travel, and an opportunity be 
aflbrded for lecturing on the intervening week evenings, in 
the region round about. For instance, during about five 
j^ears, from 1821 to 1826, I generally preached in Union 
the first Sunday, and in Hope the second Sunday, of every 
other month. And on the week evenings between these 
—Sundays I lectured more or less in East Thomaston, Cam- 
den, Lincolnville, Belfast, Castine, and other places. On 
my way to Union I would lecture, on each trip, in some 
of the towns of Augusta, Hallo well, Gardiner, Bowdoin- 
ham, Brunswick, Bath, Wiscasset, and Bristol. And on 
my way home, by a more direct^ country route from Hope, 
after the second Sunday, in Belmont, Searsmont, Mont- 
ville, Unity and Ligonia or Albion. 

INFANT DEDICATION. 

On the second Sunday of December following (1821), 
I performed for the first time the service of infant Dedica- 
tion, substituted by Rev. John Murray for infant Sprink- 
ling. It was in my meeting in Waterville ; and the subject 
of it was an infant son of Br. Levi Dow, an active member 
of my society, who a few years before removed from 



A. D. 1822. 



105 



Boston, where he was a member of Father Ballou's Church, 
in School Street. He instructed me into the form of words 
as nearly as he could recollect it, employed by Father 
Murray, and adopted by Father Ballon, which is the fol- 
lowing : I receive thee as a member of the mj^stical 
church of Christ, to be baptized with his own baptism, in 
the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; 
and I dedicate thee to Him to whom thou belongest, pro- 
nouncing upon thee the blessing which God commanded to 
be pronounced upon all the children of Israel. " The Lord 
bless thee and keep thee ; the Lord make his face to shine 
upon thee and be gracious unto thee ; the Lord lift up his 
countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." Amen. 

The name which Brother Dow spoke into my ear for his 
little son, when he passed him into my arms, was, George 
Sylvanus Oobb. An unexpected compliment to myself. 

A. D. 1822. 

January. — Having renewed my engagement for preach- 
ing half of the time in Waterville, I took regular boarding 
with widow Elizabeth McFarland, an excellent Christian 
woman, living about half way between the main Village on 
the Kennebec and the West Meeting House, in which I 
preached one third of the Sabbaths devoted to Waterville. 
The arrangement furnished me with a pleasant home, which 
I retained until I entered into the estate of matrimony in 
the ensuing autumn. 

February. — On the first day of this month I started on 
a tour south and westward, which was extended to Boston, 
comprising my first visit to that city, which, in six j^ears 
afterwards, was embraced in the neighborhood of my resi- 



106 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



dence, and in about nineteen years, became my permanent 
life abode. 

I went by way of Hallowell, and took aboard sleigh, as 
my companion on the route, Miss Eunice Hale Wait, who 
was my affianced Bride. 

1.9^.— Went to Hallowell. 

2d.— (Saturday) Took my travelling-companion aboard, 
and rode out (ten miles) to Winthrop, where I preached 
the next day, which was Sunday. 

4 ^/i.— (Monday) We rode to Norway, where we remained 
until the 11th. While there I preached a lecture In Yag- 
ger ; and a lecttrre also in the Village, and two discourses 
on Sunday the 10th. 

11th. — Went to Falmouth. 

12tJi. — Delivered a lecture to Br. Russell Streeter's con- 
gregation in Portland. 

13th. — We proceeded on our journey as far as Dover, N. 
H., where we found a pleasant home for the night at Br. 
N. Ela's Hotel, which was alwa3's a welcome home to me 
when I was passing through Dover, and had occasion to 
make any tarry there. 

lUh. — To Portsmouth, where we spent the night with 
the famil}^ of father Sebastian Streeter, wherein I spent so 
many happy days in preparatory study for the ministry, 
in 1820. 

15th. — To Ipswich. Here dwell the principal relations 
of Miss Wait, my companion. Her birth-place is Kenne- 
bunk, Me. But her father died when she was about five 
years of age, and her grandfather, Capt. Isaac Stanwood, 
of Ipswich, her mother's father, took the principal parental 
and educational charge of her until she was twelve years 
of age, when her mother married Samuel Locke, Esq., of 
Hallowell, Me., and gathered her children to herself. So 



A. D. 1822. 



107 



here, at Ipswich, I left Miss "Wait, jyhile I finished out my 
journey in its principal purpose, by extending it to Boston. 

16th, {Saturday), I left Ipswich with the intention of 
going directly to Boston, and spending the Sabbath in that 
city, hearing Rey. Hosea Ballon one part of the day, and 
Rev. Paul Dean the other part. But, in passing through 
Salem, I must needs make a short friendly call on Rev. Bar- 
zillia Streeter, then Pastor of the Universalist Church in 
that city, with whom I contracted an intimate acquaintance 
in Maine in 1819, when he preached equal portions of the 
time in Norway, Turner, Livermore, New Gloucester, and 
Waterville. Br. Streeter prevailed upoiTme to permit 
him to put up my horse, to tarry with him Saturday night, 
and preach for him Sunday. After the afternoon service, 
he accompanied me, as companion and guide, to Charles- 
town, and introduced me to Rev. Edward Turner, who 
cordially invited us to abide with him over Sunday night. 
At that time Mr. Turner was Pastor of the Universalist 
Society in Charlestown. This was my first acquaintance 
with him. I found him a pleasant combination of dignity 
and geniality. 

But my enjoyment of this evening's entertainment was 
somewhat abridged, by the matter and spirit of the princi- 
pal conversation between Brs. Turner and Streeter. They 
were continuously discussing, as parties interested in the 
movement, the project which I found to my regret to be 
afoot, for a division of the denomination on the question 
of a limited future or post mortem punishment. The 
believers in such punishment were to go out and organize 
a distinct denomination, under the name of Universal Re- 
storationists, or something similar. And these two brethren 
were very innocently calculating that the most polished 



108 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



and literary of the denomination would go with them into 
the new organization. 

We in the State of Maine had been baptized into the 
Spirit of God as the universal Father, and of Christ as the 
universal Saviour, and of humanity as a universal brother- 
hood. We regarded sin as the shame and curse of man, 
wherever it is ; and labored to show our people this fact ; 
that they might hate and discard sin, not onl}^ as dishonor- 
ing the God they loved, but also as - degrading and cursing 
their own being. But we felt neither authorized nor dis- 
posed to extend sin's reign into the " life and immortality " 
" brought to light through the gospel." And to whatever 
of private speculations individuals might sometimes in- 
dulge their genius upon in relation to temporary evil in 
the land of promise, we gave no importance b}^ giving it 
marked consideration. Indeed the moral power of our 
ministry was tlie love of God in Clirist Jesus our Lord. 

Feb. 18th, {Monday). Br. Streeter, still remaining 
with me as my companion and guide, introduced me, in 
his own house, to Rev. Paul Dean, Pastor of the Bulfinch 
St. Church in Boston. This was to me -another new 
acquaintance. I found Mr. Dean a man of much social 
affability. But his mind also, as well as Mr. Turner's, had 
been measurably alienated, aud his denominational feel- 
ings unfavorably affected, by unwholesome influences. 
The conversation here was similar to that at Mr. Turner's. 

19f7i, (^Tuesday). AVe called at a modest mansion on 
Hancock, near Myrtle Street, where we found Rev. Hosea 
Ballou at home. After the usual introduction, the venera- 
ble minister of the word placed me a chair by himself a 
little apart, and, with a fatherly interest, inquired into my 
labors, and encouragements, and the condition and pros- 
pects of the common cause, in the State of Maine. He had 



A. D. 1822. 



109 



been represented to me as more severe in his theological 
tone, and less polished in his manners, than the other 
Reverend Brethren whose acquaintance I had just made. 
But I found his soul mellow with the love of Christ, and 
his conversation to develop the tenderness and simplicity 
of a child. He regarded the faith of the fundamental prin- 
ciples of the gospel as an essential requisite to denomina- 
tional ministerial fellowship ; but on incidental matters of 
philosophizing he could tolerate individual freedom, and 
even smile at what he regarded as ludicrous blunders. 

Waiting in vain, through that afternoon and evening, for 
Mr. Ballon to arraign certain other Brethren's difference 
of opinion on some of those incidentals, — or at least to 
introduce the subject of the disputations, disaffections, and 
threatened divisions of which others had said so much, I 
at length questioned him in relation to these things, 
directly. Said I, inquiringly, " I believe there is some 
difficulty between you and Br. Dean? " " None at all," he 
replied in a decisive but mellow tone ; "if there is any 
difficulty, it is all on his side. 1 have never interfered 
with his affairs, nor regarded him with other than feelings 
of kindness. I understand that Br. Dean believes in a 
limited punishment in the immortal world. He has a per- 
fect right to believe and preach it, if he has evidence of it 
satisfactory to himself. But when he requires of me the 
belief of it as essential to my claim of Christian fellowship, 
it is highly proper that I should demand the proof of it as 
a Christian doctrine. That is all. I see no occasion for 
any unkindness of spirit or alienation of feeling between 
us." So he spoke with apparent depth and sincerity of 
feeling; and the spirit of these remarks was uniformly 
manifested by that great and good man through the many 
10 



no 



LEV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



3'ears of my subsequent intimate social intercom*se with 
him. 

20i7i, {February). I took leave of Father Ballou after 
breakfast, and returned to Ipswich, leaving Br. Barzillia 
Streeter at his home in Salem on the way. Here I met 
again with my chosen friend. Miss Wait, and tarried over 
night with her worth}^ uncle, Joseph Wait. 

21s^.— The weather was rain}^, and the snow fast melting 
away, so that it was necessary that I should be hastening 
on m}^ return route, that my sleigh might serve as my 
vehicle of conveyance. In passing through Salisbmy I 
recalled an appointment made on m}^ way out, for a lecture 
' there this evening, and proceeded on to Portsmouth. Un- 
pleasant as the weather was, I took the j^oung lady whom 
I had in charge along with me, that I might deliver her to 
her parents in safety on my return to Hallowell. With a 
large Buffalo Robe, and a good umbrella, I kept her housed 
from the rain. 

23c?, {Sunday). 1 preached three times in Br. Sebastian 
Streeter's desk to-da}', he being at Salisbur}' . I delivered 
a lecture for him also Saturday evening. His arrange- 
ments, as usual in like cases, kept me prett}^ constantly at 
work. 

25th, {Monday). This evening I lectured in the Court 
House in Dover. The ground was bare much of the way 
from Portsmouth to Dover, and we had to face a cold north 
wind which blew furiously. But we persevered, and laughed 
at our hardships. 

Notwithstanding my solicitude to be making progress 
homeward, both on account of the protracted term of my 
absence, and the rapid wasting awa}^ of snow for sleighing, 
yet, as I have it in my Diary, "the solicitations of the 
brethi'en prevailed upon me to stop and speak to them 



A. D. 1822. 



Ill 



again the next evening." I do not recollect the circum- 
stances which rendered the brethren so desirous to receive, 
and which prevailed with me to tarry and give, another lec- 
ture. So far as I may judge from the subject of my second 
discourse, by reference to my text book, denoting Eph. i. 13, 
14, as the text for the occasion, it was not the demand for 
an exposition of any particular passage of Scripture which 
the opposition had just been perverting in contradiction of 
our faith, which persuaded me to tarry, but an earnest and 
lively spirit of inquiry after truth in the love and joy of 
truth and righteousness. 

In four days more of rough sleighing I reached my home 
at Waterville. The first day brought us to Portland ; the 
second to Lisbon ; the third to Hallowell, where I left my 
pleasant ward with her parents ; and the fourth to Water- 
ville. 

I have introduced into this biographical sketch, notes of 
conversations, with me and in my presence, on the part of 
the prominent clerical brethren whom I visited in Boston 
and vicinity, because it is expedient that I should thus 
record my witness from behind the curtain, as to who were 
the prime operators in an historical movement in our de- 
nomination, which, in 1831, culminated in the secession of 
a party (not embracing Hosea Ballou), which organized 
itself under the name of " The Massachusetts Association 
of Universal JRestorationists,'" which operated in a narrow 
sphere a little while, and in a few years was only to be 
found on record among the things that were. 

I have also encumbered this memorandum of my first 
visit to Boston, with notes of my labors by the way, on 
the Sabbaths and numbers of week evenings, to show to 
my posterity, for whom I write these sketches, that my life 
was not that of a sinecure, but of a laborer ; that the 



112 



JIEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Father conferred upon me the working man's mission. 
And in pursuing the Journal of m}^ life, j'ou will see that 
my labors and responsibilities multiplied and increased, 
until, in advanced age, my ph3^sical powers declined. 

During this year (1822), I continued my circuit labors 
in the wide field before described in this Journal, widening 
it somewhat, by progressive degrees ; — down the valley 
of the Kennebec, taking in Winthrop and some other towns 
west, and extending east over Lincoln, Knox, Hancock, 
Waldo and Penobscot counties ; retaining Waterville as 
the base of operations, and the field of half of my Sunday 
services. There are some incidents, however, of peculiar 
interest, to which I am inclined to give a passing notice. 

In April, having preached a lecture in Winthrop ; and 
a discourse on Fast Day in the Baptist Meeting House in 
Hallowell ; and a Sunday in Union ; and a lecture in 
Appleton ; and another Sunday in Union ; and a lecture in 
Searsmont ; I preached a Sunday in Ligonia (so the Diary 
has it, and this was nearing my home again), and here, in 
the evening, I solemnized marriage between Mr. George 
Smith and Miss Celia White, both of Readfield. This I 
note here for its being the first instance of my having been 
called upon to perform the service of marriage solemniza- 
tion. 

May. — Among my labors in this month I find the follow- 
ing entry : — 

May 14:th. — Preached in a School House near Capt. Seth 
Wyman's, in Bloomfield. The Congregationalists, at a' lecture 
in this house the Sabbath preceding, voted to keep the door 
locked against me. But they did not see fit to put their vote into 
execution. On the succeeding evening I lectured in another 
School House in the same town, near a Mr. Bigelow's." 

This brief memorandum recalls to my mind all the 



A. n. 1822. 



113 



interesting circumstances of that occasion. Capt. Wyman 
was a highly intellectual and enterprising man, about forty 
years of age, with a young family. He had been educated 
into Calvinism, which was the dominant, indeed almost the 
only theology in Bloomfield. He had never heard Univer- 
salism preached, nor had he heard or read of it but as a 
dangerous error, defiant of the teachings of the Bible. 
Early in this month he was executing an- engagement in 
Waterville Village in his capacity as a Stone Mason, to finish 
a small fraction of which he tarried in the place over a 
Sabbath. On Sunday morning he suddenly willed to hear 
me preach in the forenoon. He took his seat in a wall 
pew alone, and my attention was particularly arrested hy 
his remarkable appearance. He sat, during the sermon, 
with his hands grasping his knees, his strongi}^ intellectual 
countenance elevated, his eyes fixed upon me, and, in the 
absorption of his mind with the subject, often rising par- 
tially from his seat. In the afternoon he appeared in the 
same pew, and went through with the same attitudes. 
None of my friends knew him of whom I inquired coming 
out of meeting. But on Monday, before he left town for 
home, he called at my study; introduced himself; ex- 
plained the manner of his religious education ; his entire 
misconception of Universalism ; how he happened to be 
tarrying in Waterville over Sunday ; his sudden determina- 
tion to go in and hear my morning's discourse ; his delight- 
ful surprise ; his wonder and admiration of the beauty and 
glory of the doctrine, and its harmony with the Scriptures 
as well as with reason. He felt irresistibly impelled by 
liis spiritual wants to go in and hear me again in the after- 
noon, by which means he had become more deeply inter- 
ested in the faith that I promulgated ; and he must pursue 
his inquiries. He earnestly desired that his family also, 
13* 



114 



HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



and his neighbors, should enjoy the pri^alege of hearing 
the same gospel. To this end he engaged me to lecture in 
his District School House on the evening above noted. On 
the intervening Sunday he attended the Congregational 
lecture at the same School House, at the close of "vvhich he 
gave public notice of my lecture to be delivered there on 
the evening of the 14th. Objection being made to the 
opening of the School House, Capt. "Wj^man enthusias- 
ticallj^ expatiated on the great light which he had received 
from hearing the preacher whom he had announced, and 
declared his desire to afford them all an opportunity to 
receive the same benefit. And he advised that their min- 
isters should attend the lecture, and, if Mr. Cobb was in 
error, expose him and put him down. A vote was carried, 
as above stated, to close the house ; but Capt. Wyman 
told them that he had as good a right as any of them to 
the use of the School House for a religious meeting ; but 
if they barred him out, he would open his own house. 
They were not able to shut the light out of town. 

And so the lecture came off; and it was fully attended. 
None of the clergy, however, saw fit to be present. 

Numbers received the word. The arrangement was 
extemporized after the sermon, and before the dismissal, 
and notice announced, for the lecture in the Bigelow School 
House the next evening. 

A few lectures followed in Bloomfield, and they drew 
attendants from Skowhegan, a flourishing village, which 
was near, who arranged for my lecturing frequently in that 
place ; which, from its convenience of location, and the 
number of men of influence and means there who came in 
with us, was soon made the place of meetings, as the com- 
mon centre, for the fraternity of Universalists of that 
vicinity, including those in Bloomfield, and other parts of 



A. D. 1822. 



115 



Canaan, of which Skowhegan was then a portion. A reg- 
ular society was soon organized, which has lived and 
prospered to the day of this writing, 1866, which is 44 years 
from the lecturing in Bloomfield of which I have just been 
speaking, which was the initiative of all this work of evan- 
gelization, and society and church construction, which will 
live and operate forever. That at Skowhegan is one of the 
Maine societies which are regularly represented by able and 
earnest men in the annual Universalist Convention of the 
State. 

June 26t7i and 27t7i.—The Eastern Association held its 
annual session in Turner. The clergymen present, besides 
myself, were, Sebastian Streeter, Russell Streeter, Wm. 
A. Drew, Wm. Frost, Jabez Woodman, Asa Barton, and 
Joseph Butterfield. I was persuaded to preach in the fore- 
noon of the first day. I was sincerely reluctant to do so. 
It was near the place of my nativity ; I was comparatively 
inexperienced in the ministry ; had been preaching more or 
less in all the societies round about which were represented 
in that Association ; and I believed that tJiey ought to do 
the preaching on such an occasion, who were differently 
circumstanced in these respects. But the Council refused 
to receive my excuses, and I consented to preach. My 
text was Eph. i. 13, 14 : " In whom ye also trusted, after 
that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salva- 
tion : in whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed 
with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of 
our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased pos- 
session, unto the praise of his glory." The exposition of 
the several parts of this text furnished quite a full system 
of religious doctrine. 1st. There was a " word of truth," 
called also the gospel of salvation, the hearing of which pre- 
ceded the act of believing and trusting in Christ. Of 



116 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



coarse this word of truth was not the fruit of faith, for it 
preceded faith, aud was the root and ground of it. It 
stands not in the will of man, but in the faithfulness and 
power of God. 2d. After believing in Christ, they were 
sealed, that is, confirmed and assured, by the holy Spirit 
of promise. 3d. This assurance was the earnest of their 
inheritance. Earnest is a part of the purchase money in a 
bargain ]3aid in advance, as a pledge of the whole. ^So the 
believer in Christ enjoys, in his assurance, a foretaste of 
the immortal inheritance. — 4'.h. "Until the redemption 
of the purchased possession." So then, in connection with 
their own realization of their promised inheritance, they 
looked for the redemption of the purchased possession ; 
even the purchased possession of Him who is " the head of 
every man," and " who gave himself a ransom for all, to be 
testified in due time." That sublimely glorious consumma- 
tion, the deliverance of the human creation from the bond- 
age of corruption unto the glorious liberty of the children 
of God (Rom. viii. 21), will indeed redound to the praise 
of the glory of God. 

Br. Russell Streeter preached in the afternoon of this 
day ; and Br. Wm. Frost in the evening. 

On the second day of the meeting Br. Wm. A. Drew 
preached in the forenoon ; and Br. Sebastian Streeter in 
the afternoon. After the sermon ordination was conferred 
upon Br. Asa Barton ; Brs. Butterfield, Frost, and S. 
Streeter, performing the usual parts of the service. 

July and August were devoted to my usual broad 
round of ministerial labors, adding Camden, which is six 
miles from Hope, to my Eastern circuit. Several of the 
citizens of Camden, including Dr. Hues, and several of the 
^ Dillinghams, had been attending my meetings in Hope. 
By their invitation I preached an evening lecture in their 



A. D. 1822. 



117 



Village June 7th. And on the second Sunday in August I 
preached there two discourses ; and in the evening, lectured 
at Ducktrap, in Lincoln ville, which was still another new 
post of labor. I continued for years to share to these 
places, Camden and Lincolnville, a small portion of my 
labors, sometimes on the Sabbath, and at other times on 
week evenings. 

By a review of my Diary, I perceive that two other 
important and noteworthy additions were made to my field 
of labor in these two months, by the introduction of the 
New Testament Evangelism into Gardiner, on the Ken- 
nebec, July 5th, and into Belfast, on Penobscot Bay, Aug. 
16th. These pioneer visits to those thrifty villages, col- 
lected and put into action moral forces, which have pro- 
vided for the continuance of the preached word, erected in 
each place a Meeting House, and established permanent 
religious worship. The Universalist societies in Gardiner 
and Belfast, are living and working institutions. 

September 1822. — Another step's advance as a pioneer. 
On the 4th inst., I delivered a lecture in Norridgewock, in 
the Court House. Norridgewock is the Shire Town of 
Somerset county. I was invited to preach in the place by 
Esq. Gould, who held a county office, the Registry of Deeds 
I believe. I was entertained by a family by the name of 
Townsend. 

THE NEW EPOCH. 

September 10th, — at 8 o'clock a. m., I joined hands in 
Marriage with Miss Eunice Hale Wait, at the house of 
her father-in-law, Samuel Locke, Esq., in Hallowell. Rev. 
Eliphalet Jillett, pastor of the Congregational church, 
officiated on the occasion. This important relation was 
entered into with a good understanding of its sacredness, 



118 HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

interests and responsibilities, by both parties ; and she has 
added largely to the value of my life. I have shared her 
sympathy and encouragement in my arduous and responsi- 
ble labors ; and she has cheered me with her presence in 
much of my journeying abroad. Though, with the in- 
crease of the number of our children (See p. 18), her do- 
,mestic cares and responsibilities increased, all of which 
she enjoyed and faithfull}' acquitted, for she never failed to 
look well to the ways of her household, jQi she managed 
her affairs with such sj^stem and skill, that, with great 
frequency, she could, with home all right, gratify her own 
and my desires, by taking a seat in my carriage, and 
accompanying me when I went out to spend the Sabbath 
from home, and in attendance upon our Associational and 
Conventional meetings. Of such a one there can be no 
doubt of Solomon's accuracy in the saying, " Whoso find- 
eth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favor of the 
Lord." 

After the ceremony of Solemnization was duly executed, 
and we had become in law what we had become in affection 
and purpose, husband and wife, we forthwith started out 
on our journey for Warner, N. H., to attend " the General 
Convention of Universalists for the New England States 
and others." The first day's leisurely ride bore us to Lis- 
bon, where we were entertained over night by Dr. Mace. 
The second day, Wednesdaj?", brought us to Portland, where 
Br. Russell Streeter persuaded me to tarry and preach a 
lecture for him the next (Thursday) evening. The 13th 
advanced us to Dover, where of course our welcome home 
was at Father Ela's Hotel. Saturday we rode to Roches- 
ter, N. H., where I preached three discourses on the Sab- 
bath. Remaining in Rochester over Monday, Tuesday the 



A. T>. 1822. 



119 



17th, we rode to Warner, where we were put up, for the 
Conventional season, with the family of a Br. Courier. 

September 17th and 18t7i. — TJie great Convention. Here 
I met the following ministering brethren ; — H. Ballon, R. 
Streeter, S. Streeter, H. Ballon, 2d., M. B. Ballon, Elias 
Smith, Joshua Flagg, Eobert Bartlett, S. C. Loveland, J. 
Whitnall, H. H. Winchester, Benj. Whittemore, K. Haven, 
Wm. Farwell, L. Willis, Dolphus Skinner, J. E. Palmer, 
T. F. King, L. S. Everett, J. Bradley, Parker. 

The first sermon, Wednesday a. m., was by Br. H. Bal- 
lou, 2d., from Rom. i. 25 : " Who changed the truth of God 
into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more 
than the Creator, who is blessed forever." The second 
sermon, Wednesday p. m., was by Br. Elias Smith, from 
Dan. vii. 13, 14 : "I saw in the night visions one like the 
Son of man," &c. The third discourse, Wednesdaj^ even- 
ing, devolved upon me. Mj text was John iii. 35, 36 : 
" The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into 
his hand. He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting 
life ; and he that believeth not the Son, shall not sec life ; 
but the wrath of God abideth on him." Br. Russell Street- 
er went into the desk with me and offered the prayer. 
Father Ballon also, being Moderator of the Convention, 
sat in the desk. When I raised some of the strong points 
involved in the text, Father Ballon, absorbed in his interest 
in the subject, and fearfal that the young preacher had un- 
dertaken more than he would be able to accomplish satis- 
factorily, would occasionally whisper to Br. Streeter, or to 
himself more probably, with sufficient emphasis to be heard 
even in the pews which were near the desk, "Is it possible 
that he understands that now? Will he bring that out 
right ? " Then, after listening the due time with breathless 
attention, he would exclaim yet in a louder whisper, I may 



120 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ssij an under tone of voice, "Yes! yes! that's it. Who 
does not see that ? How plain it is ! " When the services 
were closed, the venerable patriarch and renowned theo- 
logian grasped the young preacher's hand, and bestowed 
upon his labor encouraging commendation. 

The fourth sermon, Thursday a. m., was b}^ Br. Sebastian 
Streeter, from 1 John iii. 3: "And every man that hath 
this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 
And the fifth and concluding sermon, Thursday p. m., was 
by Br. H. Ballon, from Ps. xlvi. 4 : " There is a river, the 
streams whereof shall m.ake glad the city of God." It was 
a powerful discourse. The large audience was overwhelmed 
with the abundant waters of the river of God. 

Father Ballou, and others of the elder laborers in the 
Master's vineyard who were present, were elated with 
unusual joy, sanctified with thanksgiving, by prominent 
circumstances of this meeting. The Convention was 
largely attended, and a spirit of love, S3anpathy, and 
Christian zeal prevailed ; good news of the advancement 
of the cause was reported from East, West, North and 
South ; and eleven candidates asked and received letters 
of Fellowship as ministers of the gospel: — viz., Thomas 
F. King, Linus S. Everett, Joseph Bradley, Lemuel Willis, 
Dolphus Skinner, Hiram B. Clark, Asa Wheaton, Massena 
B. Ballou, Hubbard H. Winchester, and George W. 
Brooks. 

On the adjournment of the Convention, we (self and 
wife) accompanied a Br. Eastman to his home in Concord, 
N. H., where we were cared for over the night. Thence 
we journeyed homeward, spending a Sunday in Dover, N. 
H., and another in Norway, Me., on our winding way. 

October, 1822. — Deferring for another month our debut 
in the practice of house-keeping, we made it our home, 



A. D. 1822. 



121 



through October, at my wife's parents in Hallowell. 
Rather, my wife domiciled there ; and I kept np familiar 
acquaintance by means of personal visits, repeated as 
often as my engagements in the Master's business admit- 
ted. I was very busy on my broad, and yet broadening 
circuit. Two or three incidents of this month I deem 
it expedient to minute. 

On the first Sunday, I preached in an old Meeting 
House at Boardman's Point, in Gardiner, — and had an 
appointment for an evening lecture in a westerly District 
School iHouse in. Gardiner, near Litchfield. The lecture 
had been appointed there by prominent citizens, who had 
no knowledge of any other engagement of the building for 
the same hour. But when we arrived at the place, we 
found a large congregation assembled, and were informed 
that it was the time and place of a semi-monthly Sabbath 
evening lecture of the Methodist Elder Hutchins. On 
entering the house I perceived that the Elder was sitting 
by the desk, prepared to commence his services. I intro- 
duced myself to him ; informed him that my friends had 
given out an appointment for me there without knowing of 
his arrangement ; and added, that, as his appointment had 
priority, and his friends had come expecting to hear him, 
and would suffer disappointment if an exchange of speak- 
ers were made, I deemed it expedient that he should pro- 
ceed with his services. 

"So," replied Elder Hutchins, "many have come 
expecting to hear you preach, and will be equally dissat- 
isfied if they are disappointed." 

" Then," I replied, " let them all be accommodated. 
We may both preach. As your appointment was prior to 
mine, and you are prepared to commence your services, 
proceed, make your preliminaries short, and your sermon 
11 



122 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBBy D.I). 



as brief as convenient ; and then, if there are some who 
desire to tarry and liear me, I, too, will preach." 

The proposition pleased the Elder ; he proceeded with 
his services ; the prayer and singing were short, and he 
preached with reasonable brevity from Rom. viii. 1 : 
" There is therefore now no condemnation to them which 
are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after 
the spirit." It was a good, truthful sermon, practically 
applying the doctrine of the text. At the close of his 
discourse, I arose and spoke as follows : "I propose to 
proceed forthwith, omitting the form of prayer and the 
singing, to the delivery of a discourse. All who are either 
disinclined to hear me, or who, having come to hear but 
one discourse, cannot conveniently tarry to hear another, 
may now retire, and that without even the appearance of 
incivility." No one retired. Elder Hutchins and all his 
people remained. I took for my text the words of Jesus 
in John iii. 36 : " He that believeth on the Son hath ever- 
lasting life : and he that believeth not the Son, shall not 
see life ; but the wrath of God abideth on him." There 
was a look of strange surprise and earnest inquiry when I 
read this text ; for it had generally been perverted to use 
as being contrary to Universalism. But I selected this 
text during the Elder's discourse, for its adaptedness to a 
valuable purpose. I explained it as a confirmation of the 
doctrine of my brother's text and excellent discourse, 
showing that the phrase, " he that believeth on the Son 
hath everlasting life," expressed the same sentiment as the 
words, " There is therefore now no condemnation to them 
that are in Christ Jesus," denoting that justification and 
life which is noio enjoyed b}^ the believer as the fruit of 
faith ; and that of course the opposite deprivation of life and 
subjection to wrath or condemnation, is at the same time 



A. I). 1822. 



123 



the fruit of unbelief and sin. But this is not £i final state. 
Unbelief does not destroy the truth of God's purpose of 
grace which it discredits. Unbelief is not eternal. Un- 
belief is falsehood. Falsehood is not eternal. Truth is 
eternal. Unbelief is a dark cloud. Clouds and darkness 
are not eternal. Light is eternal, — and will prevail. 

Profound attention was given to the discourse. Not a 
word of disharmony was uttered. Mutual greetings passed 
around. And it was the general opinion of my friends 
that the two parts of the exercises working together would 
prove productive of greater good than either part alone 
could have accomplished. 

A little later in the month I went out again on my East- 
ern Circuit ; and on this tour planted the Gospel Banner 
in three other first-class villages, where the gospel which is 
effulgent with the light of God's universal Fatherhood had 
not been preached before. These w^ere Bath, Wiscasset, and 
Thomaston. 

I took Bath on my way out. It was always by invita- 
tion that I entered new places with the ministry of Univer- 
salism. After my first ministerial tour in Nov. 1820 (see 
page 83), the hard necessity did not devolve upon me to 
seek opportunities to preach, or to " get up " the first meet- 
ing in any new place. I would not have hesitated to do 
this, if I had not otherwise a suflScient quantity of labor 
always furnished me. But I was invited into new towns 
and villages, sometimes by letter from some one who had 
heard of m}^ labors in the region round about ; and at 
other times by personal application at the close of a public 
service in another place, by one who was in attendance as 
a hearer there. The brethren who were among the original 
providers for my lectures in Bath, and one of w^hom had 
extended to me by letter the invitation to this visit, were, 



124 ' . REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

Capt. Samuel Winter, Joseph Blish, Nathaniel Swazey, and 
Oliver Moses. 

This introductory lecture in Bath was on the 11th inst. 
(Oct. 1822). My friends had made application for the 
Baptist Meeting House. The Pastor, Rev. Mr. Stearns, a 
man of a genial spirit, and two of the parish Committee, 
one of whom was Dea. Swanton, readily acceded to the 
request ; and the appointment was published accordingly. 
But Dea. Low, another member of the Committee, on being 
informed of the arrangement, was so violent in his opposi- 
tion to it, that even my friends deemed it inexpedient to 
insist on its being carried out, and changed the appoint- 
ment to a large and commodious School House near the 
old Church on the hill ; Rev. Mr. Whittaker, a Unitarian 
clergyman of New Bedford, Mass., was present, and by 
my invitation offered the Pra3'er. The meeting was well 
attended ; and it initiated a continuous work, which pros- 
pered to the establishment of a permanent society of the 
first class of Universalist societies in the State. I contin- 
ued to preach lectures there on week evenings occasion all}^ 
until I removed to Maiden, Mass., in the spring of 1828. 
Within a few months of that removal I preached two Sun- 
days there ; when the brethren in Bath proposed to unite 
their endeavors with those in Brunswick, where I had also 
raised a society, to engage my constant services with the 
two societies. But my engagement at Maiden was too far 
advanced to admit of my compliance with these desires. 
The Bath society worked on, however ; and, in December, 
1839, it devolved upon me, then residing in Waltham, 
Mass., to deliver the sermon at the Dedication of a new 
Meeting House which they had builded. Since then the 
society has grown to the capacity to need and build another 
and larger Church, for which they abandoned the fii'st. 



A. D. 1822. 



125 



This second is one of the most magnificent Churches 
owned by the Universalist denomination in Maine. 

On the second Sunday in this month (Oct. 1822), I 
preached in Hope. 

Monday^ the 14i/i,— delivered a lecture in Thomaston (the 
part called East Thomaston, and since incorporated into 
the town of Rockland), situated on the sea-shore, about a 
dozen miles south of Hope and Union. This is another 
of my advances upon new territory with "the glorious 
gospel of the blessed God." I went by invitation of 
Maj. Spear, who had frequently attended my meetings in 
Union and Hope. Here, too, a perpetual Universalist 
organization hence proceeded, which in due time provided 
itself with a Church and a regular pastor ; and, I trust, 
will abide through the ages. 

The second day from this, Wednesday the 16th, I was 
lecturing away in Belfast, near the head of Penobscot Bay ; 
and then, on the succeeding Sunday, preached in Union. 

I took Wiscasset on my return route this time, and 
preached there Tuesday evening, the 22d, in the Town 
Hall. This is the other " first-class village" into which I 
introduced the ministry of Universalism on this tour. 
The audience was crowded, and interestedly attentive. J. 
W. Hoskins, who subsequently became a preacher, and 
Messrs. Damon and Hall, were among the originators of 
this movement ; and the work was continued somewhat as 
in the other places where it was inaugurated. 

Wiscasset is an important Port of Entry, and one of the 
Capitals of Lincoln county. 



11* 



126 



BEV, SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



HOUSE KEEPING. 

Novemher 5th, 1822. — "We moved, self and wife, with our 
economical household stuff, to our accepted home, Water- 
ville. We boarfled with Maj. R. M. Dorr two days, for 
the arrival and putting up of our furniture ; and, on the 
7th, entered as tenants into N. Oilman's little new " green 
house," on the lot near Ticonic Falls, called the Nursery. 
A new and happy mode of life, for the development of true 
man and womanhood, and the highest enjoyment of the 
most sacred relations. 

Of course, ha^dng been making this place my home, and 
the society my pastoral charge, between one and two years, 
1 had formed a pretty familiar acquaintance with the 
people, and hence had learned to esteem them for their 
brotherly kindness. But now that I had settled down 
among them in the family gear, in the more completeness 
of manhood by the attachment to self of my " better half," 
which is the manhood constituted primarily of God, who 
created man in his own image, male and female, — now I 
seemed to them more as a fixture in the pastoral relation ; 
and their fraternal affections and kind and respectful atten- 
tions were more fully developed and visibly drawn out. 

THE WIFE'S RELIGIOUSNESS. 

And then the enlightened faith and living religious zeal 
of the wife, combined with her naturally sympathetic and 
social habits, constituted her a help-mate indeed to me in 
my oflacial Christian labors. Her whole soul was imbued 
with the love of Universalism, as the perfect form of Chris- 
tianity ; and her interest was not second to mine in the 
upbuilding and the honor of the Universalist denomination, 



A. D. 1822. 



127 



for the glory of God and the good of mankind. In her 
childhood she had received a strictly Calvinistic education ; 
when sixteen years of age she was a subject of marked reli- 
gious influences, and was with consent proposed as a mem- 
ber of the Calvinist Baptist Church in Hallowell. But 
difficulties in the creed of that church presented themselves 
to her view on reflection, and increased in their consequence 
as she examined them ; insomuch that she asked for a post- 
ponement of action on her case. Her father-in-law had, a 
little while before, been moved by circumstances to a de 
novo study of the Scriptures, by which he had advanced 
into the light of Universalism. But, being alone in his 
faith in that town, and himself but a new-born babe in the 
light, he did not deem it expedient to interfere with the 
religious convictions of his step-daughter. Nevertheless 
his example doubtless had an important influence in encour- 
aging her to a like candid search of the Scriptures. By 
this process she soon became an enthusiastic convert to the 
faith of Christ as the impartial and efficient Saviour of the 
world. She withdrew her application for membership in 
the Baptist church, giving and vindicating her reasons for 
this change of purpose. It was not until two or three years 
after this that I made her acquaintance. And I did not 
misjudge, upon acquaintance, in my opinion that in her 
was a mind that would sympathize and co-operate with my 
own in the work of building Zion ; and which would be a 
life-long light and joy of my home. 

Our Home in Waterville, with regard to its social 
relations, was an eminently desirable one. I had had 
boarding places which I called my homes for the time 
being, because they were respectively my dwelling places. 
But, in the true sense of the word, this was my second 
Home, — the first after leaving the parental mansion. It 



128 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



was my home ; and it was in the midst of my people. Of 
our own society, the older members were as parents to us. 
At their houses and tables we were as children. And the 
younger members were as faithful and affectionate brothers 
and sisters. And with all the citizens, of the various reli- 
gious denominations, we maintained unvarying pleasant 
and mutually respectful relations. The same may be said 
of our standing with the Baptist College Faculty and Stu- 
dents. Waterville College was originated by the Baptist 
denomination ; and it was accordingly officered from mem- 
bers of their communion, and conducted in their interests. 
Puplic worship on the Sabbath was conducted by some 
member of the College Faculty. On the Sabbaths when 
my meeting was in the village, as I occupied the Meeting 
House, they occupied a School House ; and on the other 
Sabbaths they worshipped in the Meeting House, which 
was an old building belonging to the town ; and was, in 
those days, the only Meeting House in the Village. The 
Baptists, however, built them a commodious Church before 
I left the place ; and the Universalists a few years after. 

December, 1822. — This month I went again on my regular 
Eastern circuit, and extended it to the inclusion of Castine, 
a seaport in Hancock county, on a peninsula on the east 
side of Penobscot Bay, opposite Belfast. Lecturing in 
Belfast, and in "Waldo also, a town near, in the week be- 
tween the first and second Sundays in Union, on Wednes- 
day, the 4th, I crossed the Bay by packet to Castine, where 
I preached in the Court House in the evening ; when an 
appointment was extemporized for another lecture, which 
I delivered, the next, which was Thanksgiving evening. 
The lectures were fully attended, and put into operation 
working forces which procured repeated visits from me, 
running through the remaining years during which I con- 



A. D. 1823. 



129 



tinued the charge of this circuit. My home, when here, 
was generally with the family of Esq. Howe. 

A. D. 1823. 

January. — At Skowhegan Falls, at a lecture on the 
18th of this month, an incident occurred which it may be 
instructive to notice. On entering the desk, I found a slip 
of paper lying upon it, addressed to me, referring to Matt. 
XXV. 46 : " And these shall go away into everlasting pun- 
ishment : but the righteous into life eternal." I of course 
understood that this imported a desire that I should make 
that passage my text. When I came to the point of begin- 
ning the sermon, I read the billet, and remarked, — That I 
did not hold myself under obligation to comply with re- 
quests put in in that manner, because it did not imply 
in the originator of the movement an honorable desire to 
promote Scripture knowledge. For if he either desired 
instruction himself, or wished it imparted to the people, 
he would have addressed me a note some days before the 
meeting, communicating his wishes, that I might have 
opportunity to review the text and all its connections, to 
prepare myself for giving the most clear and profitable 
exposition of it. I thought it obvious that his design was 
to embarrass me. Nevertheless, as I was familiar with the 
subject, and the connections so fully explained the text, — 
and as there were many there (for there was a crowded 
assembly present) who might not be able to avail them- 
selves of so favorable an opportunity for hearing a fair and 
legitimate exposition of this much controverted portion of 
the sacred Record, I would proceed at once to the work 
placed before me. 

Commencing, at the beginning of the preceding chapter, 



130 BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

with the opening of the discourse of Chi'ist to his disciples 
which is closed with the words of the text, I showed, in a 
discourse of two hours, that it referred to the judgment of 
that age, which before that generation should have passed 
away (xxiv. 34), would terminate the Jewish polity ; when 
the enemies of Christ, generally, would suffer the direct 
calamities, and the evils abide for ages, signified by the 
term aionion, rendered everlasting, — and the servants of 
Christ would be emancipated from the oppressions which 
had borne upon them, into an enlarged enjoj^ment of the 
everlasting life of the gospel. The great audience gave 
breathless attention throughout ; and m}^ friends were im- 
pressed with the conviction that the labors of the evening 
would prove profitably promotive of Biblical knowledge. 

THE WIFE'S SYMPATHY, ZEAL, AND ENDUR- 
ANCE. 

In the last half of this month (Jan., 1823), and the first 
half of February, my wife accompanied me on my eastern 
circuit, which also I considerably extended up the Penob- 
scot River. It will be borne in mind that those were not 
days of rail-roading. I drove my own team then ; and the 
vehicle on those winter tours was the open sleigh. To set 
forth the fortitude of the young wife, I will sketch this 
tour somewhat in detail, as follows : — 

Jan. 22d. — I started on an eastern tour, with Mrs. Cobb 
in company. Went as far as Sidnej^, and delivered an 
evening lecture in the Brick School House. 

23d. — Went to Gardiner, and preached in the evening. 

2Uh and 25th. — Reached Thomaston. 

Sunday the 2Qth. — Preached in Thomaston. 



A: D. 1823. 



131 



30f7i. — A lecture in Hope, at the house of Mr. George 
Bowley. 

• February 1st. — An ^^vening discourse in the Baptist 
Church in Union. Our meetings in Union are generally- 
held in the Town Meeting House, at the Centre. 

Sunday^ the 2d. — Preached two discourses in Union; 
and after the second discourse we rode ten miles, to Sears- 
mont, where I delivered a lecture in the evening. 

AtJi. — Took passage, by packet, across Penobscot Bay, 
from Belfast to Castine, where I preached a lecture in the 
Court House in the evening. 

5th. — Preached again in the Castine Court House. 
Were kindly entertained at Esq. Howe's. 

6th. — Attempted to recross Penobscot Bay by the faith- 
ful little daily packet. But we had to face directly a cold 
heavy wind, which sometimes blew a gale. The Captain 
was anxious to make his trip ; and six hours he beat 
against the strong wind. The waves several times dashed 
over the deck, throwing some rather uncomfortable quan- 
tities of water down into the cabin. At length, night 
di*awing nigh, the Captain relinquished his purpose, to the 
joy of us all, and set his course back to Castine, which he 
reached, running with the wind, in less than an hoiu\ 

7th. — Wind and weather continued to be such that we 
kept comfortably housed with our kind host in Castine. 

8^^. — At half past 11 a= m. we again entered the packet 
for Belfast. The vessel was often taken and carried out 
of her way by large floats of ice, — so that we did not 
arrive at Belfast until 8 o'clock in the evening (Saturday). 
This put over to Sundaj" morning the ride which I would 
have taken this evening, to meet mj Sundaj^'s appointment 
at Hope. 

Sunday, the dth. — I left Mrs. Cobb with our old friend, 



132 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Master Edmands, in Belfast, and took out my team which 
he had kindly kept during my absence at Castine, and rode 
eighteen miles to Hope, where, notmthstanding the weather 
was very cold, I met with and addressed a fAll audience, in 
the Baptist Meeting House. 

10th, Monday. — Returned to Belfast; and preached in 
the evening, at the " Head of the Tide." 

lltJi. — We rode up the Penobscot to Hampden, where 
I preached in the evening. Hampden is situated on the 
west side of the Penobscot, six miles belovf Bangor, a port 
of entr}', with good educational provisions, and mechanical 
and commercial thrift. This was my first visit to the 
place ; and, if my information is correct, it was the first 
proclamation there of the gospel of Him, in whom, accord- 
ing to the pleasure of the Father, all fulness dwells. We 
were entertained by Capt. Grant, and called by invitation 
upon Gen. Jedidiah Herrick, ^who, I believe, was the cor- 
respondent whose note of solicitation procured this initia- 
tory visit. 

12th. — Preached in Bangor, which is a city at the head 
of navigation on the Penobscot. We were kindly enter- 
tained by Br. Chick, Inn-keeper. I believe my invitation 
to this pioneer visit was received from Br. Burton, a 
printer. This I call a pioneer visit to that city. I have 
an impression that some travelling Universalist preacher 
had, some time before, stopped and given a discourse in 
this place ; but no abiding and working influence proceeded 
from it. Nor could I now add this place to my already 
over-expanded circuit, to give it any regular attention. I 
visited them again the next summer ; and, soon after, from 
some source, they obtained the preached word, and grew 
into a regular societ}?-, which, in a few years, became per- 
manently established with a new Church and settled pastor. 



A. I). 1823. 



133 



IZtJi. — We journeyed from Bangor to Ligonia, where we 
took lodgings with E. Farnuni, Esq. 

14^/l. — Returned, in^ health and happiness, to our home 
in Waterville. 

And now, I submit it to my children, whether the quali- 
ties of mind in my young wife, which inspired her blithely 
to step into my sleigh for such a tour in the middle of a 
Maine winter, and to laugh at all its hardships, should not 
have been expected to develop their mothefs energy of 
character, and extensive religious and social influence. 

MarcJi, 1823. — Besides the usual routine of labor, I this 
month introduced the ministry of Universalism into two 
other towns near each other. Newport and Palmyra, the 
former of which is in Penobscot, and the latter in Somerset 
county. To the former place I was called by Dr. Wright ; 
and to the latter by Esq. Lancy. 

Passing matters of common interest, I have to note an 
exciting and important event of June 5tli, which was 

The Birth of Our First Child, a Son. All well. 

The Eastern Association of Universalists met in Water- 
ville also on the 25th and 26th of this month, June, 1823. 
The following ministering brethren were present, besides 
myself: — Hosea Ballon, Russell Streeter, Wm. A. Drew, 
Fayette Mace, Jabez Woodman, Wm. Frost. Brs. Alvin 
Dinsmore of Winthrop, and Haskins of Wiscasset, received 
Letters of Fellowship as preachers of the word. Five dis- 
courses were delivered during the occasion, two by Father 
Ballou, and one each by Brs. Drew, Mace and Streeter. 
12 



134 



REV' STLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



THE BAPTISM. 

On the second day of the Association, Thursday, June 
26th, our infant son was publicly dedicated by Father 
Hosea Ballou, by the name, Stlvanus. 

Mrs. Cobb's parents, and mine also, were with us dui'ing 
this term of the Association, which was to us a great occa- 
sion. Especially was the ^dsit of my mother a rare treat 
to me ; as she had scarcely ever journeyed beyond the 
limits of her own immediate neighborhood, since she moved 
from Middleboro', Mass., to Norway, Me. For this visit 
she made a journey of about 50 miles. But she had good 
weather and good care, and suffered no harm. 

In July I made an extended Eastern tour ; preaching in 
Union, Hope, Lincolnville, Belfast, Castine, Eddington, 
Bangor, Hampden and Unity. On one of the Sabbaths 
embraced in this tour, I performed a severe day's work, — 
the first which seriously fatigued me. In the forenoon I 
preached in Eddington, in the house of Widow Sibley, com- 
mencing at 9 o'clock. I had preached two lectures there 
in the preceding week ; but now, on Sunday morning, a 
large concourse of people were assembled, some having 
come fifteen miles or more ; but few of them had CA^er heard 
Universalism preached, and they generally wanted the 
whole system of doctrine, and its harmony with the whole 
Bible. I preached from 9 o'clock to 11. Then I rode ten 
miles, to Bangor ; dined, and commenced service in the 
Court House at 2 o'clock p. m. Here, too, I must needs 
deliver somewhat more than a thirty minute essay. I did 
well in the line of brevity to get through all the services at 
3 o'clock and 45 minutes : when I took my carriage again 
and hastened to Hampden, six miles from Bangor, to meet 
an appointment in the Congregational Meeting House 



A. D. 1823. 



135 



there at 5 p. m. I arrived just in time, and found a large 
congregation assembled. 

An amusing incident occurred here, which I will record. 
Professor Smith, of Bangor Theological Seminary, Calvin- 
ist, occupied the pulpit of this church in the day. Gen. 
Herrick sent him a note to be read from the desk, as fol- 
lows : " Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, of Waterville, will preach a 
lecture in this house this afternoon, at 5 o'clock." The 
Professor, at the close of his afternoon service, held out the 
notice with his thumb and fingers, and spoke as follows : — 
" I have here a notice, signed by a respectable name, with 
the request that I should read it ; announcing that Rev. 
Sylvanus Cobb, of Waterville, will preach in this house this 
afternoon at 5 o'clock. Who this Mr. Cobb is, or what he 
is, I do not know. He is not a Congregationalist ; for we 
have no society in Waterville. Nor is he a Methodist ; for 
neither is there a Methodist society in that place. And 
I am acquainted with the Baptist clergymen connected with 
the Waterville College ; and there is no one of that denom- 
ination there by the name of Cobb. It must be that he is 
a Universalist ; and I will have you to know that I will not 
give out an appointment for a Universalist preacher ! " 

The dear man, it will be seen, announced the whole fact 
at the outset. And this queer and ludicrous method of 
getting out the notice produced much amusement for the 
people ; and it was doubtless instrumental in bringing out 
an increased number of hearers. At the close of this meet- 
ing I felt uncomfortably fatigued. 

For the remaining five months of this j^ear (1823) my 
Diary is filled with the records of abundant labors ; — pa- 
rochial duties, examining candidates for school keeping, 
visiting schools, &c., at home ; and travelling through sun- 
shines and storms, and preaching on week evenings and 



136 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Sundays, over a wide area, East, West, North and South. 
These were my ordinary labors, in which nothing occurred 
which I deem important to note here, except the following 
incident : — 

My Eastern tour, embracing Belfast and Castine, was to 
be made in September. My friends in Belfast were inquir- 
ing for a place in which to hold their meeting. Dea. 
McCrillis, of the Baptist church, proposed that he would 
open to me their Meeting House, on condition that I would 
preach from a text which he would give me. I was forth- 
with written on the subject, and accepted the proposition 
of course. The text selected by the Deacon was, Gen. iii. 
4: "And the serpent said unto the woman. Ye shall not 
surely die." On the day set, Sept. 11, I was at hand, and 
in the Baptist Pulpit at the appointed minute. The house 
was crowded, and there were as many hearers outside as 
in, clustered around the open doors and windows. The 
Deacon probably supposed that the text so precisely rep- 
resented the Universalist position, that I "should either 
refuse to accept his challenge, or falter under the effort to 
speak upon it if I should undertake the business. But, to 
his disappointment and discomfort, he found the tables 
turned upon his own school. I stated the common opin- 
ion, that the death in that connection meant endless mis- 
ery as the punishment of sin ; and showed that, as Adam 
sinned, and " all have sinned," Adam and all men must 
suffer endless death to make the Divine threatening true 
with this construction. Then I showed that they who' so 
interpret the term death in this connection and jet main- 
tain that millions of the human race will by some means 
escape endless death, do so far take the serpent's position, 
" ye shall not surely die." That is, they deny that Adam 



A. n. 1823. 



137 



and all men shall surely die the death which they them- 
selves assume was meant in the threatening. 

Then I showed what is really the death meant as the 
penalty of /jrod's law, that is, the death which is the wages 
or fruit of sin, — viz., moral death, including all the inca- 
pabilities of happiness, and the positive evils, which are 
involved in a state of sin ; and that this death is surely and 
necessarily suffered "by all who sin, while they are in that 
moral state. - The apostles had suffered it when they were 
in sin ; for St. John says, " We know that we have passed 
from death unto life, because we love the brethren." 
Again, " He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 
And St. Paul, — "To be carnally minded is death." And 
all the church were in this death when they were in sin ; 
for St. Paul says again, " You hath he quickened who w^ere 
dead in trespasses and sins." It was therefore plain, that 
our doctrinal opposers not only deny the truth of the word 
of God in the context, " In the day thou sinnest thou shalt 
surely die," in its general application, with their own defi- 
nition of the term death ; but that, by denying the doc- 
trine of a just retribution for sin in the state of sin, they 
are found also on the serpent's side in relation to the cer- 
tainty of the death threatened when incurred, when taken 
as that which was really meant, and is always in the Scrip- 
tures meant as the wages of sin. They say to sinners, " In 
the day ye transgress," " ye shall not surely die." Univer- 
salists only maintain, with firmness and fidelity, the unde- 
viating truth of God's word, that whenever and wherever 
men will live in sin, they shall linger in death ; that 
" though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not be unpun- 
ished ; " that it is vain to imagine that they may sin with 
impunity ; that in the day they transgress God's laws, 
12* 



138 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



they shall surely die. Of course we nail the lie to the 
Serpent tempter at every step. 

The discourse produced much excitement. In the even- 
ing, after the lecture, which was at 4 o'clock p. m., and the 
next morning, small gatherings of people were seen at 
various street corners discussing the lecture. I think I had 
not an invitation to occupy the Baptist pulpit afterwards. 

A. D. 1824. 

January. — In the opening month of this year I again 
perambulated my Eastern circuit. This being only in my 
usual line of labor, I refer to it here only for the purpose 
of taking occasion for the record of an incident which may 
involve profitable practical instruction. I had an appoint- 
ment to preach in the Unitarian Church in Belfast on the 
afternoon of the 5th inst. {January). I preached in that 
Church on my November tour, and the Pastor, Rev. Mr. 
Frothingham, accompanied me into the desk, and offered 
the long prayer. This January lecture was engaged by me 
to my friends at that time ; and subsequently the Unitarian 
Church was engaged by them for the lecture, of the proper 
authority. But after my arrival, and when the hour for 
the meeting was near, the house was not opened, and it 
was ascertained that a member of the parish Committee, 
who had the same day obtained the key, was out of town. 
My friends immediately sought entrance into a School 
House near by ; and they were informed that the same 
retired Committee-man had taken with him the key to that 
also. There was no other convenient room known for the 
meeting, and the people, large numbers of whom were 
wending their way along the streets towards the Church, 
learning that the Church was barred, and there would be 



A. D. 1824. 



139 



no meeting, were turning homeward. Then a man came to 
me with the word that a gentleman who had a large new 
store, not yet occupied, would, if I would preach in that, 
have it furnished with settees and chairs in ten minutes. I 
declined the proposition, because there was great excite- 
ment among the people ; many of them had got beyond the 
reach of notice for the new arrangement ; and I did not 
believe that a meeting then and there would be useful. I 
believed that the affair as it had occurred and was coming 
off would be overruled of the good Lord for the advance- 
ment of his cause. And it was so. 

The next day I went over to Castine ; and I lectured 
there the two succeeding evenings. While there I had my 
attention called to a notice in a Belfast paper published the 
day after the disappointment, calling a meeting of the 
Universalists of Belfast for the purpose of organizing a 
regular society. The society was organized, and has lived 
to this day (1866). 

In justice to the memory" of the Unitarian society I will 
here put down the opinion that the action of the Committee- 
man who plotted and executed our exclusion from their 
Church, did not represent the spirit of the parish ; for so 
general and decisive was their disapprobation of the trick, 
that the Church was voluntarily offered for my use on my 
next bi-monthly visit, in March. But, for then existing 
reasons, my friends chose to decline the acceptance of it. 
They cherished none other than feelings of kindness 
towards that society ; but they had legally organized them- 
selves into " The Christian Society of Universalists in 
Belfast," — had arranged for the time being for the use of 
a hall for their meetings, for which they would be laid 
under no obligations, and chose to act independently. And 
they prospered to such a degree that, in one year from this 



140 



BEF. SYLVAN-US COBB, D.D. 



time, January 1825, they were able to procure the pastoral 
services of Br. Wm. A. Drew for one half of the time. 
The other half of the Sabbaths he devoted to preaching in 
other towns in the region round about. 

February. — During the February of this year (1824), I 
visited for the first time Piscataquis County, and preached 
a Sunday in Guilford, and week evening lectures in Pal- 
myra, Dover, Sangerville and Parkman. This tour was 
made by arrangement with Br. Wm. Frost, who was labor- 
ing in that County. Br. Frost was a worthy Christian 
man, and a substantial and useful preacher, who, a few 
years bafore, came from the Baptist denomination into our 
faith and ministry. . On my return from this visit I preached 
a lecture in Athens, Somerset County. 

In April there was also a rare occurrence in the course 
of my round of services, which it may comport with the 
interest of this work to record. I copy from my Diary. 

" April — 3d Sunday. Preached at Tuttle's Mills in Canaan. 
Though I mailed a letter announcing my appointment a week 
before, yet on account of the absence of Br. Corson to whom it 
was addressed, it was not opened until Saturday afternoon. 
Rev. Jotham Sewell, Calvinist, of Chesterville, had given out an 
appointment for the occupancy of the same School House in 
which I had proposed to preach, at the same time, just before 
my letter was opened. But the date of the letter was so early, 
that it was agreed, by both Mr. Sewelfs friends and mine, that 
my appointment had the priority. This School House was the 
only building in the vihage which would serve for a public 
meeting. Rev. Mr. Sewell called upon me Sunday morning, 
and with an air which indicated the presumption that I might 
relinquish my claim wholly to him, asked me whether I expected 
to occupy the School House that day. A mutual explanation 
followed, when I proposed to him that we should all meet in the 
School House ; and that, in regard to the preaching, we should 
divide the day between us. He declined accepting my proposal, 



A. D. 1824. 



141 



and left me in the mood of assent to the prevailing opinion that 
mine was the prior appointment. But shortly after he sent me 
word that he would accept my proposition. I forthwith called 
upon him, when he informed me that, though he liad thought of 
preaching in a private house, he had concluded that, upon the 
whole, it would be best to have but one meeting, and that in the 
School House. If I would consent to it, he would preach in the 
forenoon, provided he should not be held under obligation to 
attend my meeting in the afternoon. 1 replied that I was will- 
ing that he should preach in the forenoon, and I should of choice 
hear him ; and he should be held at liberty to act his pleasure 
about attending in the afternoon. His text was Luke xiv. 17: 
' Come, for all things are now ready.' The nobleman's feast he 
regarded as a representation of the gospel provision, made for 
the whole family of man. The call upon those who were bidden 
to come to the great entertainment, was the call upon all men 
to repent and believe the gospel ; or, in other words, to accept 
the gospel provision. Their refusal represented the disposition 
and conduct of all men in a state of nature, in rejecting the offers 
of Divine mercy. And the declaration of the master of the 
house, ' None of those men which were bidden shall taste of 
my supper,' represents the final rejection and endless exclusion 
of all who reject the offers of the gospel. 

" In the afternoon I was in the desk in due time ; and, though 
Rev. Mr. Sewell was absent, I was informed by those who 
knew, that nearly all his friends, who heard him in the forenoon, 
were present in the afternoon. I spoke from Mark xvi. 15, 16. 
Having shown that the gospel is the revelation of the purpose of 
God's grace given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, 
making all men heirs of immortal life and good ; and that this 
purpose stands in the wisdom and power of God, and is neither 
made a verity by the belief of men, nor thwarted by their unbe- 
lief; and that men, by faith in the gospel, come into the enjoy- 
ment of its salvation as the legitimate fruit of faith, — and by 
unbelief and sin are self-excluded from this great good, and 
abide in condemnation while their unbelief continues ; I then 
offered a brief review of the discourse to which we listened in 
the morning. 

"I showed that, if,^ as the Rev. gentleman alleged, the first 
general invitation to the feast in the parable, were the offers of 



142 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.I). 



the gospel to all men ; and the refusal of those bidden signified 
the conduct of all men in their state of nature to refuse the gos- 
pel offers of grace : and the saying, ' None of those men which 
were bidden shall taste of my supper/ signifies the final exclu- 
sion of the parties denoted ; the inevitable conclusion is, that 
none of the human race shall ever taste of salvation. 

" I then joroceeded to offer my own exposition of the parable, 
as follows : — The first invitation of many to the supper, repre- 
sents the ministry of the gospel to the Jews, to whom it was 
first promulgated. The Jews' rejection of the gospel, is repre- 
sented by the treatment of the invitation of the householder by 
those who were first bidden to the feast. The sending of the 
servants into the highways and hedges to compel them to come 
in, denotes the sending of the gospel to the Gentiles, and their 
being gathered into the fold of Christ ; — as Jesus said to the 
Pharisees, ' The publicans and harlots shall go into the kingdom 
of God before you.' When Paul and Barnabas heard the con- 
tradiction and blasphemy of the Scribes and Pharisees, they 
waxed bold, and said, ' It was necessary that the word of God 
should first be spoken to you. But seeing ye put it from you, 
and deem yourselves unworthy of aionion life, lo, we turn to the 
Gentiles.' This exclusion of the Jews from the riches of the 
gospel feast for the lime, is what was signified by the words of 
the parable, ' None of those men which were bidden shall taste 
of my supper.' But the interdiction was not final ; for St. Paul 
says, ' Blindness in part is hai^jDened to Israel, until the fulness 
of the Gentiles be come in. And all Israel shall be saved.' 

" I had an audience attentive as it was large ; and my friends 
were of the opinion that the services of that day were rendered 
much more instructive and profitable by means of the confluence 
of the two clerical appointments." 

June 2d. — Against this date m}^ Diary has the follow- 
ing entry : — " Commenced hewing timber for a house." I 
was encouraged to undertake this piece of work, the erec- 
tion of a dwelling house, by the oflfer of numbers of m}^ 
parishioners to render me gratuitous aid in labor and rough 
materials. Br. Alexander McKeckney bade me welcome 
to cut all the timber from a large timber-lot of his. And 



A. D. 1824. 



143 



a good gang of hewers and choppers volunteered to prepare 
the timber ; and it was hauled and mostty framed by a'oI- 
unteers also. But the stone work, sawn and rived lumber, 
carpentry and masomy, cost me considerable. I purchased 
a half acre lot of Timothy Bowtwell, Esq., on the most 
westerly long street in Waterville Village, since named 
High Street, a pleasant site, on which I built a convenient 
two-storied house, and a barn to house my horse, cow, and 
carriage, and made a fine productive garden. 

June 2Bd and 2Uh. — I attended the Eastern Association 
in Farmington. The ministering brethren present, besides 
mj'self, were, Wm. A. Drew, Russell Streeter, Jabez Wood- 
man, Fayette Mace, Wm. Frost, Alvin Dinsmore, George 
Bates, — Dolliff, and Henry Hawkins. Sermons were 
preached by S. Cobb, J. Woodman, G. Bates, Wm. Frost, 
and R. Streeter. Ordination was conferred on A. Dins- 
more, and Letters of Fellowship were granted to G. Bates, 
H. Hawkins, and Dolliff. Five new societies also were re- 
ceived into fellowship, organized In Eddington, Belfast, 
Palm3Ta, New Sharon and Canton. The first two named 
were reared, as the journal of preceding pages shows, by 
the writer's humble labors. 

On the Sunday following I extended my ministerial 
labor to another new village, Anson, pleasantly situated 
on Seven Mile Brook, about half a mile from its junction 
with the Kennebec, which is 27 miles above Waterville. 

July. — Being out on my Eastern circuit the first half 
of this month, and in Hope on the Fourth, I officiated as 
Chaplain at the public celebration of Independence in this 
town. 

July IStJi. — I took a tramp, with several gentlemen, 
up the high mountain in Camden, which stands back of 
the estate of Mr. Lemuel Dillingham. From the top of 



144 



ItEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



this mountain it was pleasant to look down over the per- 
pendicular precipice upon the flat summit of the lower 
mountain on the south, which summit contained about 25 
acres, level and well wooded. From the elevated peak we 
had also an extensive view of the Bay, and a portion of 
the Atlantic, and numerous islands south and east ; and 
of the country north and west. Under the inspiration of 
the occasion, I pencilled the following letter in rh3^me to 
my wife, who, though often out with me on these mission- 
ary tours, was now at home. 



TO MY WIFE. 

"When on the tall mountain I stand, 

By the mouth of Penobscot's broad Bay, 

And yonder white sea-beaten strand. 
With the army of islands survey; — 

You'll receive the assurance, my dear, 
That then my fond thoughts embrace thee : 

Oh, that my companion were here, 
To share sublime pleasures with me. 

But though we are distant apart, 

Yet you, too, have pleasures, at home: 

And this moment perhaps your fond heart 

Sends your thoughts for your husband to roam. 

How unspeakably happy and blest ! 

Our hearts of true love the abode ; — 
Pure friendship aye warming the breast, 

And praises ascending to God. 



On the TJiird Sunday in this month (July), after my 
two regular services in the Brick Meeting House in East 
Thomaston, since made a separate town by the name of 
Rockland, I delivered a lecture in the large School House 
at Mill River, the principal village in Thomaston. Rev. 



A. D. 1S24. 



145 



Stephen Lovell, the Methodist preacher who had officiated 
that day in the same house, was present. My text was 
Eph. i. 13, 14 : " In whom ye also trusted, after that 
heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation : in 
whom also, after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that 
Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheri- 
tance until the redemption of the purchased possession unto 
the praise of his glory." After the discourse I invited 
Rev. Mr. Lovell to offer the concluding prayer. He said 
he would do so provided he were permitted to offer a few 
remarks. I bade him speak freely. He expressed approval 
of the discourse in general, but said he differed from me in 
regard to the conclusion. All who had heard him could 
witness that he had been as explicit as I had been in main- 
taining the universality of the atonement, involving the 
idea that all men were the purchased possession of Him 
"who gave himself a ransom for all,'* and " tasted death 
for every man." But the atonement did not save men. It 
only placed them in a salvable state. It restored to them 
the opportunity for salvation which sin had forfeited. 

I asked him what he understood by the term redemption 
in the text. " Oh," he replied, " final salvation, to be sure." 
That is sufficient, I rejoined. You have expressed approval 
of my view that " the purchased possession," for whom 
Jesus gave himself a ransom, are all men. Now you agree 
that the term redemption here means final salvation. And 
the apostle gives us the result, the final salvation of the 
purchased possession, i. e. of the whole famil}^ of our great 
and beneficent Father. The seal of the Holy Spirit to the 
true believer is an earnest of our inheritance through the 
assurance of this result. 

The Rev. gentleman placed his hand upon his forehead 
in the attitude of a degree of confusion, and oftered prayer 
13 



146 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



as I had invited him. I pronounced the benediction and 
hastened away as I had twelve miles to ride that evening, 
and it was then growing dark. 

On returning home from this circuit, I entered th'e follow- 
ing memorandum in my journal : — 

"This was a pleasant torn*. The meetings were all well 
attended, and profitable. I had the pleasure of conversation 
with several who had recently been redeemed from the bondage 
of partialism ; and it was gratefully affecting to hear them, with 
their hearts overflowing with love and gratitude, testify of the 
wonderful salvation and glorious rest which they have enjoyed, 
since, by the grace of God, they became believers in the Lord 
Jesus Christ as the impartial and efficient Saviour of the world." 

August, — Under the date of August, I find in my Diary 
the following memorandum : — 

Second Sundaij. — I delivered two discourses in Capt. Fow- 
ler's barn, in Unit}^. The audience was very numerous, said to 
be the largest that was ever collected in that region on any 
occasion. The whole audience appeared very serious and atten- 
tive. I rode five miles further after the second meeting, and 
delivered a 5 o'clock lecture in a School House near Dr. Burn- 
ham's. After the lecture I rode home, twenty miles; and 
arrived a little past midnight." 

I do not copy this memorandum to fill space here with 
multiplied demonstrations of my industrj^, — for everybody 
who knew me knew that I was always at work. But I 
seek occasion for a description of that meeting, which was 
in some respects singular. Capt. Fowler's barn was new, 
capacious, and clean throughout. And it was nearly empty, 
not having been finished in season for the storage of all 
the July hay crop. There were a plenty of boards, and 
planks, and joists, on the. premises, to construct seats 
throughout the broad barn floor, the lintels, the unoccupied 



A. n. 1824. 



147 



scaffold, and the large yard in front. My stand, with 
chair and table, was near the open " great doors." Thence 
I addressed the mass of people filling the yard, and those 
crowding the area of the broad floor, and of the lintels and 
the scaffold ; and the scattering individuals who sat astride 
the cross-beams. These were interesting occasions. I 
felt as proud to be preaching the gospel to that immense 
concourse of people in and around that magnificent barn, 
as ever an aspiring clergj^man felt on addressing a fashion- 
able congregation in a costly and elegantly finished church, 
from a mahogany, gold-laced and tasselled pulpit. 

THE REVIVAL IN TURNER. 

On the Fifth Sunday in this month (August, 1824), I 
preached for the first time in Turner ; and the meetings of 
this day were the commencement of a great revival in that 
ancient town. This town was favored with Universalist 
preaching nearly as early as any town in Maine. The 
Fathers, Barnes and Root, preached here in their day more 
or less ; and a society was early organized. There were a 
few noble members of the old circle of believers remaining ; 
but some had passed away ; others had become incapaci- 
tated for active service by old age ; and but little had been 
done for some time. But this day it seemed as if the Spirit 
of God moved upon the hearts of the people, especially of 
the younger class. Our meeting was held in the forenoon 
in the large Bradford School House, and a much larger 
number flocked together to hear the word than could sit 
and stand in the house. The discomfort for the want of 
room in the house, and of sitting accommodations out in 
the yard was so great, that, obtaining leave to occupy the 
Congregational Meeting House after their afternoon serv- 



148 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D,D. 



ices, our afternoon meeting was put off to be held in that 
house at 4 o'clock. The large Meeting House was filled 
with attentive hearers. Agreeably to an engagement made 
this day at noon time, I appointed to preach again in the 
Bradford School House on the first Sunday in October suc- 
ceeding. At the time set I was in my place in the before 
described School House. And on this occasion likewise, 
the audience was so large that the female attendants nearly 
filled the house ; and we again adjourned to the Congrega- 
tionalist Meeting House for our second service. 

During this visit I entered into an engagement to preach 
in Turner one quarter of the time, apportioning my ap' 
pointments as would best comport with my other engage- 
ments, — sometimes preaching here one Sunday in each 
month ; and at other times two Sundays in succession, and 
then passing over the succeeding month. This engagement 
was for an indefinite term of time ; but it was extended 
through more than two years. Though my time was all 
engaged before, and I had many invitations to preach which 
I could not comply with, I was able to carry out this 
arrangement with Turner, by transferring a small part of 
my Eastern circuit to Br. Wm. A. Drew, who, as I antici- 
pated, as noted on page 140, was induced to remove to 
Belfast in the ensuing January, and take pastoral charge 
of our society there, and labor as he might have opportu- 
nit}^ in neighboring towns. Indeed he soon entered into 
regular engagements to preacli one fourth of the Sabbaths 
in Camden, and the other fourth in East Thomaston (now 
Rockland), which were also embraced in my Eastern cir- 
cuit ; so that I was happily relieved also of the care of 
those societies. And as Br. Drew was now a resident in 
that region, he could conveniently attend to transient 
lecturing in numbers of those places which I, by a zig-zag 



A. D. 1824. 



149 



course of travel, had embraced in my route tlirough that 
portion of the Master's vineyard. 

Furthermore, a worthy young man by the name of Has- 
kins, of Wiscasset, who commenced preaching in 1822, 
but, by reason of youth and modesty, made himself but 
little known for some time, had now become strong and 
energetic through study and experience, and was at this 
time doing good and regular service in Castine, Frankfort, 
Hampden and Bangor ; which was a further relief to me. 

The interest in our meetings in Turner continued. My 
Diary says of the meeting on the 3d Sunday of February 
1825, the fifth month after the commencement of my labors 
here : — 

"As there were nearly two hundred people who could not 
get into the School House in the forenoon, we lengthened our 
intermission again, till the Congregational afternoon meeting 
was out, and held our second service in their Church. There 
was extensively prevailing an earnest, living zeal for the cause 
of Christian truth in its purity and fulness. Great numbers of 
young men and women were intelligently and religiously inter- 
ested. One of these, Zenas Thompson, was moved in spirit to 
enter upon the responsible work of the gospel ministry, and in 
the ensuing spring (1825), commenced his preparatory studies 
with me at my home in Waterville. He remained with me 
during the season ; and in the meantime commenced the work 
in earnest, — and has continued to this writing (1866), a zealous, 
devoted, and useful minister of the everlasting gospel." 

Though the crowds attending our meetings in Turner 
continued even to increase, in pleasant weather we were 
able to get along with tolerable comfort without adjourning 
to the Congregational Church, having preparations made 
for readily constructing seats to any needed extent in the 
front School House yard, where, in such weather, hundreds 
could be decently accommodated. Even on pleasant win- 
13* 



150 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, JD.D. 



ter Sabbaths, the out-door half of the audience, being gen- 
tlemen with thick boots and overcoats, sat very comfort- 
ably. In those cases I took my position in the outer door, 
whence I could directly address both divisions of my audi- 
ence. When the weather was so unpleasant as to render 
sitting out-doors seriously uncomfortable, of course the 
attendants were not so numerous, and all could gain ingress 
into the house. 

In the spring of 1825, into which year I have now been 
reaching over with my memoranda of meetings in Turner 
as far as February, the society in this town commenced 
preparations for the erection of a large Meeting House on 
an eligible site presented by Br. Asa Bradford, near his 
dwelling house. The work was conducted economically 
by a small gang of workmen, including some members of 
the society who turned their hands to this business when 
they could be spared from their usual employments ; so 
that the house with all its appurtenances was not completed 
for the dedication, to the last touch of varnish and the last 
stitch of upholstery, and the mounting upon the spire of 
the great image of the " angel flying through the midst of 
heaven," until the passing of about two years. But we 
usually occupied the house with our morithly meetings, 
after the boarding, shingling and clap-boarding of the out- 
side. The workmen, on the Saturday evenings before the 
meetings, were in the habit of leaving the floor of the house 
in a condition to accommodate the audience. 

INTO MY NEW HOUSE. 

There i^ one important event in my domestic affairs, 
which, that I might carry through without interruption the 
journal of the " Revival in Turner," I omitted to record 



A. D. 1824. 



151 



in its due order of time. On the 25tn of November in this 
year (1824), we removed from our little green hired house 
near the head of Tyconic Falls, into our new house on High 
Street. This was an agreeable exchange. I always had a 
penchant for building, and a strong natural taste for living 
in a house of my own. Besides this in Waterville, I built 
a house in Waltham, and this in which I now live in East 
Boston. These are the only places in which I have made 
settled homes, except Maiden, where we must needs occupy 
the old Parsonage. 

IMPORTANCE OF A EULE OF WORK, WITH 
PUNCTUALITY AND PERSEVERANCE. 

December. — For the first Sunday, which was the 5th 
day, of this month, I had an appointment in Anson, which 
is nearly thirty miles from Waterville, in a northerly direc- 
tion. Saturday, the 4th, was ushered in with a severe 
northeast rain-storm, with appearances indicative of its 
continuance through the day at least. How should I get 
to my appointment ? The road was too muddy for the use 
of my chaise ; and I must either face that cold December 
northeast rain-storm horseback, my horse wallowing 
through the deep mud, or disappoint my friends in Anson. 
What should I do? At 11 o'clock a. m. I bridled and sad- 
dled my horse, hitched him in the shed which connected 
my house and barn, and went in, and buttoned up my over- 
coat for the start. But when I returned to the shed, the 
storm had increased in fury, and I had misgivings. And 
my weakness pleaded against my perseverance, that the 
journey would be too severe, and perhaps the people would 
not expect me to come through such a storm, or the storm 
might continue through the Sabbath and prevent the meet- 



152 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ing. But I recalled my fixed rule, which was that I would 
meet all my engagements if possible, and that I would not 
regard the work impossible until my determined efibrts 
should fail. Then I forthwith sprang into the saddle, 
opened and braced under my right arm my sturdy umbrella, 
and with my left hand grasped the reins, and beat my way 
merrily along. It was not until near night that I accom- 
plished the first fifteen miles, to Norridgewock, where I 
called on my old friend Capt. Bodfish, warmed myself and 
took supper. Then, as there was a faint light from the 
moon behind the clouds, I mounted dobbin again, and rode 
on. When I had ridden about five miles, the storm had 
become sleety, and my umbrella soon became so coated 
with ice, that I could neither bear it up with my arm, nor 
shut it down. I rode up to a house, and called one of the 
inmates to the door, who took it in and thawed it by the 
fire, when I could clasp it in my hand. Reaching Weston's 
Ferry by which the Kennebec was to be crossed to Anson, 
ten miles above Norridgewock, I was obliged to put up 
with the accommodating ferry-man for the night, because 
the run of ice in the river rendered it impracticable for him 
to cross that evening. 

Sunday morning, though the boatman could not navigate 
his ferry across the river, he proposed to keep my horse in 
his stable to my return, and set me over by a canoe. After 
crossing I walked a mile and a half, to Mr. Joseph Sav- 
age's, who kindly gave me breakfast, and a ride the other 
mile into Anson Village, where my home was with James 
Collins, Esq. The weather soon became fair and mild ; a 
large concourse of people assembled, some riding ten miles 
and more ; and I realized truly the value of a fixed rule of 
work, and a will to honor it. What a serious disappoint- 
ment, and loss of good, would have been the consequence, 



A. D. 1825. 



153 



if I had yielded to the pleadings of my weakness to dodge 
my responsibility. 

A. D. 1825. 

January. — The bare recital, over and over, of the times 
and places of my appointments on my customary and rep- 
etitious-missionary circuits, would be of no interest to my 
readers. But a man's industry is an important feature of 
his character ; and his performance of a vast amount of 
labor belongs to his history. Now it is impossible, by an 
abstract description, to give any just view of the continuity 
and severity of my labors. Such a view can only be im- 
parted by a simple matter-of-fact memorandum of the labors 
as they transpired, which shall conduct the reader's mind 
along as an attendant and a witness. With this under- 
standing I will here, at the risk of incurring the charge of 
wearisome details, copy from my Diary the following jour- 
nal of another of my Eastern tours. And this journal will 
again, as that copied upon pages 130-133, exhibit some- 
what of the zeal, enterprise and endurance of Mrs. Cobb. 
She often accompanied me also on my routes in more pleas- 
ant seasons of the year ; but it happens that I copy here, 
as in the other case referred to, a memorandum which pre- 
sents her with me on a severe winter tour. 

The Journal of the tour commences with Dec. 30th, 
thus : — 

" Started, Mrs. Cobb in company, to go eastward. Dined at 
Mr. Dyer's, in Sidney. We went on and took supper at father 
Locke's, in Hallowell. Then proceeded to Gardiner, where I 
preached in the evening. 

'* Slst. — I had an appointment for this evening in Wiscasset ; 
but finding that the going was such that I could not get along in 
that direction with my sleigh, I went on the direct road to 



154 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



Union, to meet mj forthcoming Sunday's appointment. Put up 
at night with Mr. McKurdie, in Washington. 

^'January, 1825. 1st. — Went to Capt. N. Bachelor's, in 
Union. 

First Sunday . — An uncommonly boisterous and driving 
snow-storm. We did not assemble at the Church to-day ; but 
by request I left an appointment for a meeting the next Friday 
evening, when I should be on the way from my appointments in 
Bristol and vicinity, to meet my next Sunday's engagement in 
Hope. 

* ' ?>d. — We went to Bristol . It was uncomfortable riding, as 
the weather was cold, and the road much drifted, and in some 
places not broken out. 

''4dh. — Held meeting in the new Meeting House at Broad 
Cove. We tarried in Bristol until the afternoon of Thursday, 
the 6th inst. Spent much of the time at Commodore Samuel 
Tucker's ; visited also at Mr. Turner's, Mr. Palmer's, and Mr. 
McLean's. 

•'6f7i. — Spent the night at widow Thompson's in Waldobor- 
ough. 

''Ith. — Fulfilled my appointment for an evening discourse in 
Union. 

" Second Sunday. — I preached in Hope. Visited in this town 
at Esq. Hobbs', Esq. Sweetland's, Dr. Dakin's, and Capt. 
Crane's. 

" 11^^. — I preached a lecture in a School House near George 
Hall's. Spent the night at Mr. Hall's. He is very zealously 
engaged in the cause of gospel truth. He knows how to prize 
the blessed peace of the gospel, having been lately converted 
from Calvinism. 

" VitJi. — We went to Thomaston, and dined with Maj. Spear. 
After dinner we went, in company with Maj. Spear and wife, 
and visited the Maine State Prison. It contained about fifty 
prisoners. ****** j delivered an evening lecture in the 
School House near Maj. Spear's. 

'* lotTi. — We rode to Camden, and called at Dr. Hens'. But 
the Doctor and his wife were away from home ; and we went to 
Br. N. Dillingham's. 

"IdtJi. — We went to Duck-Trap, Lincolnville, and put up 



A. D. 1825. 



155 



with Esq. WMtney, with whose amiable family, we tarried over 
this (Saturday) night. 

*' Tliird Sunday, January. — I preached in Lineolnville Meet- 
ing House. After meeting we rode to Searsmont. 

''17th. — Returned as far as Albion, where I preached an 
evening lecture. 

''18th. — Returned home. During our absence we left our 
house and little boy in the care of my matronly sister, Susan." 

This memorandum of a single tour I copy here, as I 
have said, as a sample of my continuous habit. Wherever 
I was, there was work for me to do ; and a disposition, 
and, thanks be to God, generally physical strength to do it. 
Whenever I went abroad to spend a Sabbath, all the way 
out and in there were week evening lectures. When I 
spent two or more Sabbaths away on the same tour, the 
week evenings between those Sabbaths were occupied with 
lectures, in circles of towns and neighborhoods marked out 
in the vicinities of the Sabbath appointments. And even 
on the weeks of my Sunda^^ labors at home, evening lec- 
tures, weddings, and funerals furnished me with much 
employment in the surrounding localities. 

VISITING THE SICK. 

All ministering servants of Jesus have more or less 
responsible service to perform in the way of kind attentions 
to the sick and suffering. But so great was the length and 
breadth of my field of ministerial labor, that the share of this 
service devolving upon me was by no means inconsiderable. 
The following extract from my Diary will afford an example. 
It is the closing section of my journal of services in Turner 
on the third Sunday in April of the current year (1825) : — 

"After meeting I called, by his request, on Mr. Jones, who is 



156 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



abont 88 years of age, and was expecting soon to pass away 
from the earthly life. I prayed with him ; and when I had con- 
cluded my prayer, the old gentleman, in feeble but devotional 
accents, exclaimed, 'I love the Lord Jesus Christ, and trust in 
him. I love the Lord God, because he hath heard my voice and 
my supplications. Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, 
therefore will I call upon him as long as I live.'" (Ps. cxvi.) 

"I then called on an aged and infirm gentleman by the name 
of Bryant, and, by his request, prayed with him. A Miss Hood, 
also, an amiable young woman 18 years of age^, sent to meeting 
by her father a request that I should call on her. I found her 
pining away in distress. The disease originated in a slight hurt 
of the ankle. Several of the young people of the neighborhood 
came in to hear our conversation, and were deeply affected by 
it. Miss Hood expressed but little hope of recovery ; but her 
mind was calm and placid in the serene peace of gospel faith. 
She spoke with good understanding, and expressed the happy 
assurance that, whether in health or in sickness, in life or in 
death, in time or in eternity, she was in the hands of a kind 
Father and Friend, who would never fail to do that for her which 
should prove to be best." 



ANOTHER DEBUT. 
My Diary has it : — 

" May 9th, 1825. — Rode from Searsmont to Palermo, and met 
my appointment in the Centre "School House in that town for a 
lecture at 4 o'clock P. m. No Universalist ever preached in that 
town before. Therefore, as might be expected, the people gen- 
erally appeared as if they had come out to hear some new and 
strange thing. As my custom is on such occasions, while I 
endeavored to commend myself to every man's conscience in the 
sight of God, I did not preach myself, 'but Christ Jesus the 
Lord." * That is, I did not devote my entire discourse to an 
exhibition of the fact that I was in favor of good morality. I 
had read a series of articles in a religious journal, addressed by 

*2Cor. iv. 5. 



A. D. 1825. 



157 



an aged Universalist or ' Restorationist' clergyman * To young 
Universalist Preachers ; ' recommending that, on preaching for 
the first time in a community unacquainted with Universalism, 
they should withhold our distinctive doctrines, and give a purely 
moral discourse. This course, it was urged, would overcome 
the prejudice of the people, and show them that Universalists 
hold to virtuous living. But in my judgment the effect of this 
non-committal policy would be the reverse of what that writer 
opined. ' Ah,' the opposition would sneeringly exclaim, ' that 
man knew better than to expose his distinctive doctrines here. 
He only preached what all sects of Christians, Infidels, J ews 
and Heathen agree in. For they all profess to be in favor 
of good morality, according to their respective moral stand- 
ards.' 

** But I ever regarded it as my duty as a minister of the gos- 
pel, to show the people who were unenlightened on the subject, 
not merely that / was in favor of virtuous living, but that the 
gospel, of which I was a minister, was the source and fountain 
of the purest morality. To do this, I must of course preach the 
gospel, in its essential principles of faith, that I might logically 
deduce therefrom its legitimate practical graces. In this way 
something is done in the work of commending to the people the 
gospel of Jesus Christ, both as a biblical and philosophical 
faith, and a practical moral force. 

"Note. This introductory visit at Palermo, on the return 
fi'om my Eastern tour, required me to make quite an elbow 
northward from my usual road." 



THE SECOND-BORN. 

June lltJi. — Our second son was born, whom, on the first 
Sunday in June, 1829, we publicly dedicated in regular 
form, by the name Samuel Tucker, after the venerable 
Revolutionary patriot, Commodore Samuel Tucker, whose 
house had always been our home whenever we passed by 
way of Bristol, his place of residence, on our Eastern 
tours. 

U 



158 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



The Eastern Association was held in "Wayne, the 6th and 
7th of July, about two weeks later than the usual time of 
its annual meetings. Sermons were jDreached by Brs. Wm. 
A. Drew, Dolloff, S. Cobb, Massena B. Ballon of Massa- 
chusetts, and R. Streeter. Brs. Bates, Dolloff and Haw- 
kins received ordination, after Br. Streeter's sermon. The 
Ordination Prayer devolved upon me ; the Charge upon 
Br. Wm.- Frost ; and the Right Hand of Fellowship upon 
Br. A. Dinsmore. 

I had the rare privilege of meeting my venerable father at 
this Association, and of having his company to my home, 
and a good visit there. 

My discourse on this occasion was delivered on the fore- 
noon of the second day, Thursday. The text was Acts 
xvii. 30, 31. The view which I took of the judgment of 
Christ, as being, in its highest sense, his spiritual reign, 
and, in its more restricted application, a co-operative branch 
of his reign, — was new to the people, and drew forth their 
most earnest and interested attention. At noon, on return- 
ing to the Hall of the Council for a public collation, there 
was a general desire expressed by the ministers and dele- 
gates, that the sermon should be published in pamphlet 
form ; and a subscription was started and extensively 
signed for copies of the pamphlet. I yielded, and procured 
its publication as requested. 

GENERAL CONVENTION AT HARTLAND. 

September. — This month 1 attended the G-eneral Con- 
vention of Universalists in Hartland, Vt. I journeyed to 
and from with my own team, and took my student, Br 
Zenas Thompson, in company with me. 



A. D. 1825. 



159 



We left home on the 10th, and took Leiviston on our 
route, where I preached on Sunday^ 11th. Monday, 
the 12th, we went to my father's in Norway. Tuesday, 
the 13th, through Waterford, Lovell, and Sweden, to Frye- 
burg, and put up at Mrs. Osgood's Inn, whose sign bore 
date, 1762. Wednesday, the 14th, we proceeded on through 
Conway, N. H., Eaton, Tarn worth. Sandwich, and Centre 
Harbor Village, to Holderness. Here we tarried till the 
morning* of Friday, the 16th, I having been invited to preach 
a lecture in the place Thursday evening. Maj. Blair was 
foremost in the arrangements for this lecture. 

16^/i. — Leaving Holderness in the morning, we forded 
the Merrimac river, and passed through Plymouth, Hebron, 
Groton, Dorchester, Canaan and North Enfield, to Leb- 
anon, — where we called upon our Rev. Br. Lemuel Willis, 
who was Pastor of the Universalist society in this place. I 
accepted Br. Willis' earnest invitation to abide with him 
until Monday, and preach in his desk on the Sabbath. 

19f/i, Monday. — Leaving Lebanon, we crossed the Con- 
necticut river by Lyman's Bridge ; forded White river in 
Vermont, and spent the night with Elder Elias Cobb, a 
distant relative of mine, a " Chiistian" preacher, in Wood- 
stock. 

20^7i. — We reached Hartland, and were on hand to par- 
ticipate in the services of the " General Convention of 
Universalists " on the two succeeding days, Wednesday 
and Thursday, the 21st and 22d. Of the services of the 
Convention were sermons, preached by Brs. Sylvanus 
Cobb, Hosea Ballou, Wm. Morse, Sebastian Streeter, and 
Paul Dean. Brs. Wm. Bell and Massena B. Ballou, 
received ordination, in the administration of which it 
devolved upon me to deliver the Right Hand of Fellow- 
ship. 



160 



REV, SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



On my return from Hartland to my home in "Waterville, 
I went by way of Boston, and, on Sunday, the 25th, 
preached for Br. Paul Dean in his Church on Bulfinch 
Street, Boston. 

Leaving Boston on Monday the 26th, we reached Cat- 
hance Landing, in Bowdoinham, Me., in the forenoon of 
Thursday, the 29th. Here I was enticed to my old habit 
of lecturing by the way. Two prominent citizens of the 
place, Mr. Henry Sampson, and Dr. Tinker, who knew me 
by reputation, learning that I was bating my horse at the 
Hotel of their Village, called upon me there, and urgently 
requested that I should give them a lecture in the Village 
Meeting House at 4 o'clock in the afternoon of that day. 
I complied with the request ; and notice was spread quickly 
over the place. To the great surprise of myself and the 
projectors of the meeting, the house was filled at the ap- 
pointed hour, and the concourse of hastily gathered citizens 
were eager listeners. While the third hymn was being 
sung, Brs. Sampson and Tinker conferred together, and 
with a few others, and one of them came up into the desk, 
and requested me to appoint to preach there again in the 
evening, by candle-light. I complied, of course, and we 
had an increased audience in the evening. This was the 
commencement of the Universalist ministry in Bowdoin- 
ham. 

Both. — After an absence of thi-ee weeks, I found all well 
at home. 

For the remaining months of -this year, my Diary exhibits 
only my regular pastoral labors in Waterville, and my 
usual travels and ministrations on my broad repetitious 
tours East, West, North, and South. It closes up its rec- 
ords of the year, Dec. 31st, with the following cheerful 
valedictory : — 



A. D. 1826. 



161 



"Another year has passed, during the whole of which I and 
my family have been favored with constant health, peace and 
prosperity. I have been diligently employed in the work of the 
gospel ministry, and trust that, through the favor of Heaven, my 
labors have been productive of much good. How rapid and 
stately is the march of truth. God says, ' Let there be light,' 
and there is light. I see the human mind rising out of chaos 
into order ; the Sun of Heaven shining ; the rain of Heaven fall- 
ing ! — I hear the soft notes of the birds of Paradise, breathe the 
fragrance of the flowers of Eden, and eat the rich clusters from 
the mountains of Zion. We wish not to go back. We will 
cheerfully step forward into another year, trusting in God ; and 
we will tread the path of wisdom for glories ahead. Arm op 
God ! be our Guide and Protector evermore." 



A. D. 1826. 

January. — The journal of this' opening month of another 
year exhibits me again indefatigably evangelizing in my 
great Eastern circuit. There was the labor of preaching a 
Sunday in Union ; a Sunday in Hope ; a funeral service, 
including a sermon, in Union ; a lecture in Bristol ; a lec- 
ture in Thomaston ; a lecture in Camden ; and a Sunday 
in Lincolnville. 

On the evening of the 19th of this month I delivered an 
Address in the Masonic Hall in Waterville, on occasion of 
the public Installation of the officers of the Waterville 
Lodge of Free Masons. The next morning I received the 
following note : — 

To THE Rev. Sylvanus Cobb: 

Sir, — The undersigned, committee of arrangements at the 
Installation of the Officers of Waterville Lodge for the current 
year, would express their unfeigned thanks, for your truly Ma- 
14* 



162 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



sonic Address, and request that the same may be published, for 
the benefit of the crafty and others. 

ALPHEUS LYON. 
R. M. DORR. 
NATH'L OILMAN. 

In compliance with this request I committed the produc- 
tion to print in pamphlet form. I had committed to print 
several communications, some of them controversial, in 
public religious journals : but this was my second publica- 
tion in book or pamphlet form. 

FEBRUARY. 

THE BOWDOINHAM AWAKENING. 

For an account of my unpremeditated ministerial debut 
in Bowdoinham, and the marked attention which it elicited, 
see p. 160. I lectured there again on my way upon the 
Eastern circuit, on the evening of Dec. 27th, three months 
from the first visit, and found that a goodly number 
had " received the word with all readiness of mind, and 
searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were 
so." And now I find another visit at this place, in my 
original record, memorandumized thus : — 

''Feb. Ibth. — Went to Cathance Landing (Bowdoinham), to 
meet my evening appointment there. Put up with Br. Henry 
Sampson. As the weather was very cold, and there was no 
stove in the Meeting House, we concluded to hold the meeting 
in the School House. But the concourse of people that gathered 
in and around the School House was so numerous, that we found 
it necessary to adjourn to the Church. This is the third time 
that I have visited this people, or that they have ever been vis- 
ited by a preacher of the gospel of impartial grace. The word 
preached has taken good effect, and the number of believers, 
especially of earnest inquirers, has wonderfully increased. They 



A, D. 1826. 



163 



would like now to obtain Sabbath preaching one fourth of the 
time." 

MARCH. 

THE CHALLENGE IN BATH, AND ITS ACCEPT- 
ANCE. 

On the 11th of this month I went out on my eastern cir- 
cuit, going directly to Hope to meet' my appointment there 
the next day, which was Sunday, and taking in Bath on my 
return route. On the evening before I left home, I received 
a letter from Br. Swazey, of Bath, informing me that it 
had been reported there, that I was requested in Wiscasset 
to preach from Isa. xxviii. 14, 15, and that I refused : 
that considerable handle had been made of the circumstance 
in Bath : and that Dea. J. B. Swanton, Baptist, had asserted 
that no Universalist would venture an attempt to speak on 
that text, — and pledged himself that if I would preach 
upon it in Bath, he would attend and hear me. I answered 
Br. Swazey by return mail, that I would deliver a discourse 
in Bath upon the proposed passage of Scripture on my 
way homeward from a tour eastward upon which I was 
preparing to go out. And as I was to preach in Wiscas- 
set, which is near Bath, on the evening of the 14th, I 
named the 17th as the time for the challenged expository 
lecture. 

lltJi. — I was on hand in due time ; and the meeting was 
held in Concert Hall, which was densely crowded. Dea. 
Swanton was present according to agreement, and occupied 
a front seat. The discourse was more than an hour in 
length, and received throughout the earnest and noiseless 
attention of the large and crowded audience. The occa- 
sion was one of a good degree of interest, and the subject 



164 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



of much subsequent conversation. But the worthy Deacon 
who challenged me never offered, as my friends could 
learn, a disrespectful or dissentient remark. 

My Bath friends must needs have this discourse printed 
in pamphlet form ; and they subscribed for a large number 
of copies. Of course I gratified them. 

THE DEPARTURE OF MY FATHER. 

May 12^7i, Friday. — This evening I received a letter 
from Dr. Danforth, of Norway, informing me of the death 
of my father. He died at about 9 o'clock on Tuesday 
evening, the 9th inst., and was to be buried on Friday, 
this very daj-, in the afternoon. The distance being fifty 
miles, I could not attend the funeral. He endured several 
weeks of distressing sickness with Christian fortitude and 
resignation : and in the closing hour expressed the fullest 
confidence that he was going to his heavenly home ; where, 
in due time, he should meet all the great Father's family in 
a redeemed and perfected state. His disease was the 
Asthma, and Angina Pectoris. His age was 67. 

He was a kind and provident father ; and great love and 
affection subsisted between him and all the members of 
his family. Industry, ^udence, economy, and integrity, 
characterized his life. The lamp of wisdom led his steps 
in paths of faith, virtue and peace. 

The following brief obituary notice, which was published 
at the time in the County paper, and was copied into the 
" Christian Intelligencer," is multum in parvo : — 

*' In Norway, Mr. Ebenezer Cobb, aged 67. He was an up- 
right Christian Universalist, and perfectly resigned to God dur- 
ing a painful illness. Many opposers of his doctrine who visited 
him, acknowledge that he was a good and happy man." 



A. D. 1826. 



165 



MY FIRST CHUKCH. 

May 28tJi, Sunday. — I preached in the Waterville Village 
Meeting House. During the intermission several brothers 
and sisters met at my house, and we organized ourselves 
into a church, to be known by the name of " Tlie Univer- 
salist Church in Waterville." As this was the fii-st church 
that I ever organized, and the first Universalist church, as 
a church of communicants distinctive!}^, ever organized in 
the State of Maine, I will here record the names of its 
original members, this day banding themselves together in 
this interesting relation. Sylvanus Cobb, Eunice Hale 
Cobb, Nathan Sawtell, Sarah Ingalls Sawtell, Elizabeth 
Blackwell, Hamden Keith, Levi Barrett, Rebecca Barrett, 
Abel Wheeler, Thankful Wheeler, Sumner A. Wheeler, 
Cyrenus C. Wheeler, Erastus O. Wheeler, Mary M. Wheel- 
er, Mary Eaton, Elizabeth McFarland, Benj. Courson. 

Capt. Nathan Sawtell was elected First Deacon of the 
church. Subsequently Hamden Keith, Esq., was elected 
Second Deacon. 

June 16th. — This day I visited the homestead the first 
time since the departure of my father a month before. I 
entered the room where my father usually sat during the 
leisure portions of the day, — but he was not there. My 
mother said, " You will find your father here no more." Oh, 
the solemn force of these words — though I knew the fact 
before. — " He died happ}^,'* she continued ; " but he lotted 
much on seeing you before he died. Manj'" times a day, in 
some of liis last da3^s, when he awoke from a drowse, he 
would ask, ' Has not Sylvanus come ? I thought I saw him 
coming. I thought I heard his voice.' " I had before ex- 
perieuced much regret that I had not the privilege of see- 
ing my father, to bless him with the tribute of filial afiec- 



166 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



tion and love, and receive his parting benediction, in his 
last sickness. But now my regret was really painful. But 
I was always pressed with public duties ; and I did not 
expect his departure so soon. All in the room was weep- 
ing ; — 3^et all was bliss ! Delightful melancholy ! While 
grief swelled our bosoms, and gushed from our eyes, with 
it was mingled the blissful hope of immortality ; and upon 
those rivers of tears were being reflected the brilliant and 
lucific raj^s of the Sun of peace. That calmness and seren- 
ity which clothed my father's mind in sickness, to the 
closing moment, seemed to be cast, as the mantle of the 
departed, over the minds of his family. 

The forenoon of the next da}^ I walked the fields which 
had been converted from the wilderness state by my father's 
labor, and where I had attended his footsteps during the 
circuits of many a summer's sun. Never did I spend a day 
in the indulgence of deeper grief, and perhaps not in the 
enjoj^ment of greater and more exalted happiness. Though, 
with the vivid memorj^ of that loved and venerated pres- 
ence with which I had so long enjoj^ed companionship in 
all those rural scenes, the thought that I should no more 
enjoy that presence on earth was prolific of grief, yet every 
recollection of his life was dear and precious. Every object 
that called him to mind, brought before me his industry, his 
kind and provident care of his children, his dignity of de- 
portment, and his chaste and upright life and conversation. 

In the afternoon I took my sister Susan into my chaise, 
and rode to the Burial Ground. We stood b}^ the grave of 
the departed parent, and lingered around the spot. There 
seemed to be a divine enchantment there. Seemingl}^ some 
angel spoke to my spirit, " His earthly form sleeps sweetly 
there. So Jesus slept. So you will need to sleep in your 
turn. But Jesus has arisen, and giveth you the assm-ance 



A. D. 1826. 



167 



that the morning succeedeth the night, when 3^011 too will 
all awake, and never need to sleep again." 

THE EASTERN ASSOCIATION. 

This Association held its annual session for this year, in 
Union, the 28th and 29th inst. (June). Sermons were 
preached by Brs. Geo. Bates, Wm. A. Drew, Zenas Thomp- 
son, John B. Dods, and R. Streeter. Br. Dods was edu- 
cated for and initiated into the Orthodox ministry ; and 
this was his first appearance at any Uuiversalist Associa- 
tion as a participant in its fellowship and services. His 
sermon, for its power of argument and eloquence of utter- 
ance, produced very marked and general satisfaction. And 
the Committees of our societies in Union and Hope, know- 
ing that I was desirous of transferring my services the por- 
tion of time which I had labored with them, to other socie- 
ties, and that he was disengaged, soon after engaged Br. 
Dods to devote his whole time to them, making his home 
in Union. 

Of the places which I was able to accommodate more 
fully by this transfer to Br. Dods, one was Bowdoinham. 
See the statement of the want of the brethren there, on 
page 162. 

THE NEW MOVEMENT IN DRESDEN. 

The following memorandum I extract from my Diary : — 

''July. Second Sunday. — I delivered two discourses in the 
Meeting House of the First Parish in Dresden, and a lecture in a 
School House near the Upper Bridge. No Universalist had 
preached in this town before ; but all of the goodly number who 
attended the meetings, so far as I could learn, were well affected 
by the discourses. 



168 



MEV. SYLVANUS COJBB, D.D. 



It was my regular turn for to-day in Waterville West Meeting 
House, where I procured Br. Bates to preach for me; and it 
happened to be my regular day for Hope, for the evening of 
which I had also an appointment in Montville, to which places I 
sent as my substitute Br. F. A. Hodsdon, who was in study with 
me for the ministry. All this pains was taken because of the 
importance of my preaching in Dresden at this particular time. 
Rev. Mr. Parker, Congregationalist, the former settled minister 
of the Parish, had resigned his position ; the House stood unoc- 
cupied ; and it was deemed a favorable time for introducing the 
gospel of the perfect Saviour. Geo. Hoodlett, Esq., was chair- 
man of the Parish Committee, and took me to his own house as 
my Dresden home." 

MRS. COBB AT TURNER, WITH THE MEASLES. 

On the third Sunday in this month, July, I preached in 
Turner. In the morning Mrs. Cobb's face was thickly 
broken out as if by a humor, and was xery red, and she 
was regretting that she should not appear fit to attend 
Church that day. The whole afl5"air was a wonder. But 
Dr. Philip Bradford, a constant attendant of our meetings, 
and brother of Asa Bradford with whom we were stopping, 
called in as he came to the meeting in the morning ; and, 
on examination, pronounced my wife's disease the Measles. 
The exposure and fatigue of the long day's and evening's 
ride with this disease latent in the system, added virulence 
to its forces ; and on its development Monday, and to its 
crisis Tuesdaj^ noon, she was seriously and dangerously 
sick. But she had become so comfortable Thursday, that 
it was deemed expedient for me to leave her in the care of 
the aforesaid good Doctor, and the kind family with whom 
we were having entertainment, and return to the oversight 
of the little family at home, and to the fulfilment of my 
ministerial appointments. 



A, D. 1826. 



169 



July^ Fourth Sunday. — This was the first "Communion 
Day " of our infant church. At the close of the afternoon 
public service, which was in the Waterville Village Meet- 
ing House, I administered to the church, and invited par- 
ticipants, "The Lord's Supper." It was a solemn and 
happy season. We all regretted the absence of Mrs. Cobb, 
who was sick at Turner as above noticed ; but we trusted 
that she too, though personally absent, was present with us 
in contemplation, and was feasting on the bread of life. 

Early in this week Mrs. Cobb had so well recovered her 
health that I went to Turner with my carriage and con- 
veyed her home. 

AUGUST. 

BEESDEN ADVANCING. 

From my Diary of this month 1 extract the following : — 

First Sunday. — Preached in Dresden. This is my second 
visit to D. There appears to be quite an awakening here, and 
a ' season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.' Two 
of the three Parish Committee had before agreed to employ me 
to the amount of the parish funds ; but they aj)prehended oppo- 
sition from the other, who was a member of the late pastor's 
church, and did not attend meeting at the time of my preaching 
here before. But he attended both services to-day ; and as he 
passed out of the Church at noon, he exclaimed, ' I am a Uni- 
versalist, and am not ashamed to own it before the world.' So 
he was desirous, with his associates on the Committee, to obtain 
my labors for a portion of the time during their year's term of 
office." 

I will here add, that, by transferring to Br. Dods, as 
noted on pag'e 167, a portion of my old Eastern circuit, 
comprising Union and Hope, and surrounding neighbor- 



Id 



170 



REV. STLVANVS COBB, D.D. 



hoods for transient labor, I was able to accommodate the 
Dresden Parish personally in part ; and to procure for 
them, in some instances, the services of other denomina- 
tional evangelists. For, by conversions from other denom- 
inations, and the entrance of a few young men in the 
ministry, it was becoming possible for me to call in assist- 
ants in some cases of need. 

MY DEBUT IN BEUNSWICK. 

Fourth Sunday^ August. — Having preached in Bowdoin- 
ham morning and afternoon to-day, I delivered an evening 
lecture in Brunswick^ of which my Diary remarks as fol- 
lows : — 

**It is the first time I ever preached in this place ; and, on 
account of the representations which had been made to me of 
the inertia of the common mind here in respect to religious 
inquiry, and of the ill success of former meetings for Univer- 
salist preaching in the place, I was much disappointed in the 
meeting this evening. Contrary to all expectation of mine, 
Kev. Mr. Mead's Meeting House (Congregational) was opened 
to me, and about five hundred people were thought to be in 
attendance. It was an interesting occasion. I was entertained 
by Mr. McLellan, the Post Master. That the divine blessing 
crowned the word here with success, may be judged from the 
circumstance that arrangements were made which procured my 
services quite often ; and on not a few Sabbaths, while I 
remained in the State, a year and a half nearly ; and the breth- 
ren here subscribed their portion of salary for my pastoral set- 
tlement with them and the societies in Bath and Bowdoinham, 
about the time when I engaged to remove to Maiden, Mass., in 
the spring of 1828." 



A. D. 1826. 



171 



ELDER SAMUEL HUTCHINSON'S CONVERSION. 

September l&tli. — Being bound to Norway, on a visit to 
my parents, preaching on my winding way, I met this 
afternoon a previous appointment for a lecture at the house 
of a Mr. Perry in Buckfield, near the residence of Elder 
Samuel Hutchinson. This appointment was procured by 
letter to me from Elder Hutchinson, of whose conversion 
to Universalism the following history may interest my 
readers : — 

On the 17th of February, 1825, I preached a lecture in 
Buckfield Aca(Jemy. Dr. Bridgham, by whom I was 
entertained, informed me that Elder Samuel Hutchinson, 
whd was confined to his bed by sickness, and did not 
expect to recover, had committed to him a message for 
me, requesting that I should call upon him while in town. 
I had long known the Elder by reputation, as a substantial 
and highly respected Free Will Baptist ]oreacher ; and 
why he should request a call from, me because he regarded 
himself as near the close of li^e, I could not imagine. 
Did he wish to dissuade me from my faith as a dangerous 
error? — On the morning of the 18th, Dr. Bridgham intro- 
duced me to the venerable Elder. He lay upon his bed in 
a feeble state of health ; but his voice was firm, and his 
mind strong. After the introduction, he led off in the 
conversation in the following strain : — " You may think it 
strange that / should request a call from you at the present 
time. But I will, in- the best manner I can, explain to you 
the cause. Since I have been lying here upon my bed, not 
expecting ever to go out again, I have been reviewing my 
theory of religious faith. And I find a serious discrepancy 
between my theory of faith, and my spirit. The spirit of 
my mind is love to all mankind, as children of one Father, 



172 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



and members of one family. This love clings to them all, 
with earnest desire for their ultimate salvation from sin, 
and fellowship with the Father in the likeness of his 
spirit ; — and it cannot give them up. But the creed of my 
faith gives up countless millions to endless ruin. There 
then is a discrepancy between my faith and spirit. And, 
as they oppose each other, they cannot both be right. 
Impressed with this fact, I have solemnly inquii-ed, which 
is right ? and which is wrong ? And I find that the spmt 
is right ; that it is the spirit of God manifasted in Jesus 
Chi'ist, and shed abroad in my heart ; for love is of God ; 
' and he that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God, * * 
for God is love.' And this love is universal ; for it is 
attested by the blood of Christ, 'who, by the grace of God, 
tasted death for every man.' These self-examinations, and 
trials of the spirit, have brought me to the conclusion that 
my theory of faith, which is in opposition to the spirit, 
must be lorong. Yet there are some passages of Scripture 
which seem, as I have read them, to favor that theory. 
And I have felt that I would like to have a little conversa- 
tion with you, thinking that yon might help my mind on 
that class of Scripture texts. And learning that you were 
to lecture in the Academy last evening, I committed the 
message to your friend. Dr. Bridgham, which he commu- 
nicated to you." 

Well, I replied, adduce a few of those passages which 
have seemed to you most difficult to harrbonize with the 
spirit of Chiist in your soul. 

He proceeded — adducing first Matt. xxv. 46: "And 
these shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the 
righteous into life eternal." 

I entered upon our usual exegetical method of exposi- 
tion, commencing to read from the beginning of the dis- 



A. D. 1826. 



173 



course of Jesus of which the verse referred to is the con- 
clusion. As I was reading along in Chap, xxiv., empha- 
sizing those expressions which bore explanatory relations 
to other expressions relating to the nature and time of this 
judgment, the Elder at length interrupted, saying, " You 
need not read farther. I see it all. Strange that I had 
not understood it before. Merely your emphasis upon 
certain important expressions has opened the sense of the 
whole, in its connection, to my understanding." He then 
took up the work which he had committed to me, and pro- 
ceeded to explain substantially as I would have done, the 
time and nature of the judgment which was in those chap- 
ters the subject of discourse (the judgment of the end of 
that age) , and the sense in which the events of that judgment 
would elevate the church of Christ into a higher and more 
permanent inheritance of the aionion life of the gospel, 
and subject the persecuting Jewish tribes to aionion pun- 
ishment. 

The Elder's next reference was to the 6th chapter of 
Hebrews. I commenced reading it ; but had only pro- 
nounced the 1st verse, with the proper emphasis, when he 
interrupted me as in the other case, saying, "You may 
stop there. Your emphasis again opens the sense of the 
whole chapter to my mind." My emphasis was as denoted 
by the Italic letters in the following reprint of verse 1 : — 
" Therefore leaving the principles (the rudiments) of the 
doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection ; not laying 
again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and 

of faith toward God " Here he interrupted me as 

above noted, and added, " Your emphasis of the word prin- 
ciples, which means rudiments, and of again and founda- 
tion, enables me to see clearly that St. Paul's meaning was 
to admonish his Hebrew brethren not to tarry longer in 
15* 



174 



JiEV. SYLVANUS COBJB, D.D. 



the sole consideration and ministerial employment of those 
rudimental principles derived from the Mosaic economy, 
through which they, by initiatory steps, had been inducted 
into the gospel ; assuring them, as in verses 4-6, that 
those who had fallen away after being converted to Chris- 
tianity by the instrumentality of those rudiments^ could 
not be recovered by the reiteration of those same rudi- 
ments which had lost weight with them. They must 
advance to the employment of the broader and more 
exalted principles which were developed in the advanced 
stage of Christian progress." And I added, that the ref- 
erence, in verses 7 and 8, to the burning of the rubbish 
from the thorny and briery land to render it productive, 
seemed to indicate, in a figure, that some of those Hebrew 
or Jewish apostates might be made to taste of the fiery 
judgment upon their nation in that age, to bring them to 
their senses. 

The venerable Elder brought forward but few more 
passages, on which his mental perception^ were equally 
felicitous, before he seemed to be reasonably satisfied that 
, there was no Scripture testimony, rightly understood, 
which favors the theory of doctrine that contradicts the 
spirit of universal love shed abroad in the heart of the 
disciple by Jesus Christ. He expressed great satisfaction 
with our interview, and hoped that I would call upon him 
again when I should pass that way, if he should remain in 
this sphere to that time. 

In October, 1825, eight months after this first interview, 
I made a moment's call into the Elder's house while jour- 
neying hurriedly past. I had barely time to listen to his 
announcement that he had " become a firm believer in the 
final accomplishment of the purpose of God in Christ, in 



A. D. 1826. 



175 



the salvation of all men, and preached it when he was able 
to speak in public." 

But now, Sept. 16th, 1826, I had the privilege of a 
happy communion, in word and spirit, with the progressive 
saint. -As I said, this lecture which I delivered near his 
residence, was procured by his agency. He was feeble, 
but able to walk over to the meeting ; sat in a rocking 
chair directly before me, his long white hair flowing over 
the chair back as he leaned his head upon it, and his lus- 
trous and oft moistened eyes fixed intently upon me during 
the discourse. 

After the services I walked with him to his house, and 
had a short time for conversation. Sitting in his great 
armed-chair, and leaning himself back in an easy posture, 
he thus gave expression to his thoughts and feelings : — 

" Br. Cobb : You remember when, a year ago last Feb- 
ruary, you called upon me here by my invitation, and 
found me upon my back on that bed. I described to you 
the painful discrepancy which I saw and felt to have 
obtained between my theory of faith and the spirit of 
Christ in my soul. Now, blessed be God, that discrep- 
ancy is removed, and all is harmony and peace. When I 
indulge in meditation on the wants of my soul, for myself, 
and fellow beings whom I love ; and on the perfectness 
and fulness of the gospel provisions, in the infinite abun- 
dance of God's grace revealed in Jesus Christ, to fill and 
satisfy all these wants ; I am sometimes obliged to stop 
thinking, or my heart would burst of its fulness of wonder, 
love and joy.'- 

The good old man lived several years after this, was 
able to preach considerably, and wrote and published sev- 
eral small books in maintenance of his enlarged and per- 
fected faith. 



176 



BEF. SYLVANUS COBB, JD.D. 



VISIT TO CALAIS AND ST. STEVENS. 

October. — This month was devoted to a missionary visit 
on the Eastern border of Maine, and in the western or 
adjoining section of New Brunswick. Going with my 
private team to Belfast, preaching all along by the way, 
and that way bending well down towards the sea, I left my 
team in the care of Col. Stanley, in Belfast, on the 12th ; 
and, at 10 o'clock a. m. took the steamer Patent, Capt. 
Cram, whose regular trips were between Bath and East- 
port. At 10 o'clock in the evening we anchored in Cran- 
berry Island Harbor, where a heavy north-east storm of 
wind and rain detained us two nights and days, over to 
Saturday evening. The weather cleared off Saturday 
evening, and the full moon shone with all its soft efful- 
gence. Our steamer went out on its course for Eastport. 
For thirty miles, across Frenchman's and Dyar's Bays, the 
roll of the sea was grand and majestic ; and the reflection 
of the moon-beams from the rolling ocean billows far as 
the eye could reach, presented a scene of awful beauty. I 
enjoyed the view most hugely, for I was not sea-sick. I 
w^s never sea-sick. 

We were out all the day, Sunday, when, by appointment, 
I was to have been preaching in Calais. The disappoint- 
ment of my friends there was serious of course ; for they 
had long been urging a visit from me, and now were very 
solicitously awaiting my coming. We arrived at Eastport 
at 8 o'clock Sunday evening. I was met at the wharf by 
Henry Hobbs, a son of my friend Micah Hobbs, Esq., of 
Hope, who conducted me to his home. 

IQtJi, Ilonday. — I tarried in Eastport this day, and, by 
invitation, delivered a lecture in the Unitarian Church. 

17^^, Tuesday. — I took stage, driven by my friend 



A. £>. 1826. 



177 



Thomas McFarland, from Waterville, and rode to Calais, 
30 miles. Here my principal home was the house of Maj. 
Eedding. 

I spent two weeks in that region, during which I preached 
two lectures in Eastport, Me., one in the Unitarian, and 
the other in the Free Will Baptist Church ; two lectures in 
Eobbinston, and two week evening lectures and two Sab- 
bath days in Calais, Me. ; and two lectures in St. Stephens, 
and two in St. Davids, N. B. I found many worthy friends 
on both sides of the boundary line between United States 
and British territory, whose kind attentions added much to 
the pleasures of my visit. The closing services of this mis- 
sion were those of the second Sunday in Calais. The 
weather was pleasant, and the assembly was large, and, in 
the afternoon especially, the whole audience appeared to 
be melted under the influence of gospel truth. As I was to 
start homeward immediately after meeting, numbers of the 
brethren called in at Maj. Redding's to take their leave of 
me. It was an affecting occasion. The presence and labor 
among them, even for so short a time, of a minister of the 
gospel in its fulness which satisfies the soul, was a matter 
of rare interest ; and this interest was a promoter of tlje 
strength of the personal attachments so quickly contracted. 
When I felt the emotional grip of their hands, and saw 
flowing from their eyes the signs of deeply agitated feeling, 
which almost denied their lips the utterance of their kindly 
sympathy and blessing, I could not pronounce my own 
adieus and responses in a firm and steady voice.* 

* As a testimony of the estimation in which Mr. Cobb's services during his 
brief visit at St. Stephens and vicinity were held in that region, the memoirist 
takes the liberty to present here in a note, the following extiact from the Gospel 
i?anner, of the Editor's journal of a ministerial visit to the same community in 
August, 1865, thirty-nine years subsequently. After giving a sketch of the emi- 
nent talents and worth, and the popular standing with the publie, of Hon. 



178 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



As the steamer did not leave Eastport at the time which 
would enable me, by that medium, to reach my earliest 
engagements in Kennebec, I made the fact known ; and a 
friend in Calais who had been pasturing a young horse for 
a man residing near Belfast where I left my team, proposed 
that I ride him to that place. I accepted the proposition, 
thereby accommodating my friend with a free transfer of 
the colt to its owner, and myself to a long free passage 
homeward. But my passage was a colt-back ride, much of 
the way through a lonesome wilderness. I turned off at 
Robbinston from the St. Croix river road, into the narrow 
path in the wilderness, riding in a quiet rain-storm under 
my umbrella. But as the darkness of night came on, the 
storm became a heavy gale ; and often a tree was blown 
down across the road just before me, around either the top 
or root of which I was obliged to feel the way in the woods, 
dismounting and leading my horse. At length, about 8 

JAjMES Brown, of St. Davids, Rev. Mr. Quinby, the above named Editor, 
under the head of " The Early Proclaimers of our Faith in St. Stephens," says : — 

Mr. Brown was familiar with the history of our cause in St. Stephens from its 
beginning, and gave us information relative to the early labors of our brethren 
in that section, of which we had never before heard. Father Joseph Butter- 
field, from the western part of Maine, was the first preacher of Universalism 
who visited the Province of New Bruns"wick for the purpose of preaching. He 
was a man, said Mr. Brown, who always spoke extemporaneously ; was a kind, 
social man, rather pleasing in his address, plain in his method as a preacher, 
but not a man of much power or talent. John Bovee Dods was the next 
minister of our denomination who visited that region. He preached in churches, 
school-houses or wherever an opening offered. He was, said Mr. Brown, a 
deep, acute, subtle reasoner, and irresistible in his argument — was at home in 
any place and fit for any kind of service, or any kind of fare. 

Kev. Sylvanus Cobb (now D.D.,) next came to St. Stephens for the purpose 
of preaching the everlasting Gospel. Mr. Cobb, by his dignity, sincerity, schol- 
arly attainments and great knowledge of the Scriptures, carried conviction to 
the hearts of his hearers wherever he preached. He, said Mr. Brown, was the 
deepest thinker, best reasoner, and really a man of more true eloquence than any 
of the early promulgators of our faith in 'New Brunswick. All these men made 
proselytes by their labors. The church of St. Stephens, of which Eev. Mr. Phil- 
brook is now the successful pastor, the meeting at Moore's Mills — the existence 
of Universalists all through that region, are fruits of the seed sown by those 
early itinerants. — "See Gospel Banner of Sept. 23, 1865." 



A, n. 1826. 



179 



o'clock, I espied a light in a log hut by the way, and called 
in. I modesth^ explained the danger of travelling that 
wilderness-way in the darkness and storm, and amidst fall- 
ing trees, thus pleading their kind consent to afford shelter 
for the night to myself and beast. An affirmative answer 
was promptly given. The horse was forthwith comfortably 
housed and well fed ; a passable supper was provided for 
me ; and in due time the gentleman and lady of the cottage 
clambered up a ladder, through a scuttle, into the attic, and 
left to me for the night their comfortable bed in the lower 
room, which was entry, kitchen, sitting-room and parlor, all 
in one. I lay awake an hour or more thinking of robbers ; 
and then slept soundly until 3 o'clock in the morning. 
The storm had passed off, the full moon shone brighth', and 
I arose, called mine host from the attic to assist me in get- 
ting out my horse, and to receive remuneration for enter- 
tainment ; and I sprang into the saddle, and made speed 
westward. (By the way, I will remark that, on going out 
in the morning, I saw by the moonlight, on a piece of board 
nailed to a corner of the cabin, the inscription painted in 
large letters, EXTERTAIXMENT. I perceived hence 
that I had blundered into an Inn. And this accounted for 
th-e prompt and unquestioning compliance, on mj arrival, 
with my petition for a night's shelter.) 

olst. — I rode thirteen miles, to West Machias, in season 
to breakfast at Hill's Inn. Then, pushing forward to the 
distance of fifty-four miles from my log tavern, I put up at 
an Inn kept also by a Mr. Hill. 

November 3d. — Diligently pressing forward, exchanging 
the colt I had in charge for my own team in Belfast, I 
reached home this day, and found all well. The following 
which my pen then and there inscribed upon my journal, 
was the song of the heart. " Wherever we go the kind care 



180 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



of God is over us, his rich bounty supplies us, and his right 
hand sustains us. ' Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget 
not all his benefits.' " 

The remaining weeks of this year, November and Decem- 
ber, were appropriated to my usual round of labor, — lec- 
tures as plenty as ever. One event of December, however, 
I will note here ; which is my Valedictory in Turner. This 
extract from my Diary discloses it : — 

"December, Third Sundmj. — I preached in Turner. In the 
afternoon I delivered my Valedictory Discourse, closing a series 
of engagements for a quarter of the time, covering two years. It 
was an affecting occasion. We had enjoyed together many 
times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord ; large num- 
bers had punctually attended at our places of worship, and by 
their earnest and often tearful attention evinced that they felt 
deeply interested in the principles and purposes of the gospel, 
and in the use of the ajDpropriate means of religious culture. 
The hearts of children, youth, middle aged and aged, had often 
melted together beneath the efficient power of truth and love 
divine, and we were strongly united in bonds of brotherly "affec- 
tion. For most of the time we had crowded in and around a 
School House for the exercises of j)ublic worship. But now we 
sat in a commodious edifice, erected and finished the past season, 
for ourselves. Indeed many circumstances conspired to render 
this occasion productive of deep emotions. I was taking my 
leave of this people for the present, under the impression that 
I should not find it expedient to renew an engagement with 
them in the future. I could not bring my mind to the con- 
clusion that I should find it expedient to accede to the gen- 
erally expressed desire that I would remove my family to 
.that place, and take the permanent pastoral charge of the soci- 
ety ; and on this account I judged it best for them that I should 
leave them in a condition which would prompt as well as permit 
them to be forthwith seeking them a pastor. Furthermore, I 
wanted, for the ensuing year, the portion of time which I had 
been devoting to Turner, and more too, for additional Sabbath 
services in Bowdoinhara, Brunswick, Bath and Dresden." 



A. D. 1827. 



181 



A. D. 1827. 

JAmiART AXD F'EBRUAKT. 

Most of these two months I spent in Portland, as a 
Representative of Water ville in the Maine Legislature, 
which then held its sessions in that city. I was nanch sur- 
prised when I was informed by a committee of my friends, 
just before the election, that the}^ had it in contemplation 
to send me to the Legislature. There was no danger of 
my consenting to such a candid ac}', or accepting the office 
of Eepresentative if conferred upon me by the people, 
exciting any harmful political animosity with any of ray 
parishioners. For there was no political excitement at 
that time, and no question was asked me in relation to my 
political opinions. The community had hardl}^ outgrown 
the quietude of the Monroe administration, when all were 
Federal Republicans. True there was considerable excite- 
ment at the Presidential election of 1824, when John 
QuinCy Adams and Andrew Jackson were the opposing 
candidates, at which election no choice was effected by the 
people, and Mr. Adams was elected by CongTess. But 
new party lines were hardl}^ j'et defined, and general quiet 
reigned. Timothy Boutwell, Esq., the most popular law- 
yer of the town, had represented Waterville in the Legis- 
lature several years ; and I was elected in opposition to 
him, b}' more than a three .quarters vote, if I rightl}^ recol- 
lect. He was a Federalist of the Hartford Convention and 
Caleb Strong times ; and I was a Republican of the same 
times. (See my political record in the sketch of m}' 
juvenile days, pages 31, 32.) 

I was at mj post in the House in the morning of the first 
day of the session, Jan. 3d. Enoch Lincoln, of Paris, was 
16 



182 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Grovernor; and, in the organization of the Legislature, 
Robert P. Dunlap, of Brunswick, was elected President of 
the Senate ; and John Kuggles, of Thomaston, Speaker of 
the House. My wife abode with me, in Portland, during 
this term ; and our boarding was with the quiet and pleas- 
ant family of Capt. John M. Knight. Our two little boys, 
Sylvanus, Jr., and Samuel Tucker, we boarded with our 
kind friend, William Wyman, in Waterville. 

The only business of legislation which came before this 
session devolving special care upon me, was the location 
of the State Capitol, to be subsequently built, which 
involved also, of course, the locality to be appropriated as 
the State Capital. Mr. Boutwell, my predecessor in the 
office of Representative, put into my hand a deed of an 
eligible site for the public buildings, to be offered as a gift 
to the State provided they would locate them in Waterville. 
Augusta had, earlier and from the beginning, been urging 
its claims to this distinction, and was inserted in the Bill 
reported by the Committee on the location of the Capital. 
I moved, in the House, the striking out of Augusta, and 
substitution of Waterville. I described its superior beauty 
and pleasantness of locality ; its better centrality between 
the northern and southern boundaries of the State, and its 
equal centrality between the eastern and western. And I 
predicted, in view of the levelness of the route, and the 
advancement of settlements in the north-east, that it would, 
within a few years, be taken in on the principal thorough- 
fare east and west through the State. This prediction was 
fulfilled several years ago, by the building of the great 
Maine Central Railroad, from Portland to Bangor, and 
thence eastward to Eastport, passing through Waterville. 

To the general surprise, the vote came within three of 
passing my amendment. But Augusta had the advantage 



A. D. 1827. 



183 



of much early work in her interest, and not a little "log- 
rolling ; " and it was at length made the seat of the State 
government. 

I found the Legislature a good school for instruction in 
Parliamentary rules of business in organized bodies, with 
which I have since had much to do ; and for the study of 
human nature. 

With regard to my ministerial labors in these two 
months, I preached the Jli^st Sunday in Charlestown, Mass. ; 
the second^ in Portland, on exchange with the pastor, Br. 
Russell Streeter, who preached for me in Bowdoinham ; the 
thirds in Brunswick ; the fourth^ in Turner ; the fifth, Feb. 
4th, again in Portland; the sixth, Feb. 11th, in Bowdoin- 
ham ; the seventh, Feb. 18th, in Poland, New Meeting 
House, — where I had the happiness of meeting with my 
brothers Cyrus and Samuel, from Norway ; the eighth, Feb. 
25th, in Wiscasset. I also, during the same term of time, 
delivered week evening lectures in Portland, Brunswick, 
North Yarmouth, Gray Corner, and New Gloucester. 

From Wiscasset, where I preached as above noted on 
Sunday, Feb. 25th, the session of the Legislature being 
about to close, and I, that I might not be under the neces- 
sity of returning to Portland, having obtained leave of 
absence, and pay, hastened .directly home on Monday, 
wife in company of course, and, after an absence of eight 
weeks, had the happiness to meet again our lovely boys, in 
health and good cheer. No wonder that I sat down to my 
Journal, and perpetrated the following verse : — 

Great God, we thank thee for thy love, 

And thy protecting power ; 
Thy rich and constant blessings prove 

Thy goodness every hour. 



184 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



MarcU. — I have nothing to record of the labors of this 
month, outside of mj usual ministerial duties. But I will 
transcribe here the following memorandum which I find in 
my Journal of March 19th, in relation to an accumulation 
of 

-PAKOCHIAL CALLS. 

" This week I received a letter from Rev. Thomas Wliittemore, 
of Cambridgeport, in behalf of the Universalist society of Wa- 
tertown and Newton, Mass., inviting me to make them a visit 
with reference -to a futm'e settlement with them, offering 600 
dollars per year. But a few weeks ago I received a letter from 
Mr. Joseph P. Bosworth, of Duxbury, Mass., in behalf of the 
Universalist society in that place, inviting me to settle with 
them ; stating that they would pay me $500 for the first year, 
$600 for the second ; and could probably continue to increase the 
salary farther if necessary. Mr. Bosworth had formed such 
acquaintance with mj labors in Maine, that, upon his testimony, 
the society voted a call for a settlement without the nsual candi- 
dacy. I likewise received an invitation a few months since, 
from the Committee of the Universalist society in Charlestown, 
Mass., to stand a candidate for them when their present Pastor's 
time with them shall have expired, which will be next June. In 
this State, the societies in Wiscasset, Dresden and Bowdoinham 
have, unitedly, made arrangements to have me settle with them 
on a salary of $500. And the Turner parish has renewed its 
.invitation, proffering me the same salary on a pastoral settle- 
ment in that pleasant and wealthy agricultural town. 

"But the society in this place (Waterville) , have voted to 
raise my salary from $400 to $500, and to employ me at that 
rate three fourths of the time or more. And now, my attach- 
ment to the people here, and my impression in respect to moral 
obligations at the present, hold me yet to my present post. I 
cannot bring my mind to the determination to leave this people 
the present season, especially as their new arrangements insure 
so fair a provision for mj family. As it regards the portion of 
the time for which my Waterville friends pledge the support of 
my labors, three fourths of the time is as much as I wish or 
ought, under existing circumstances in the community round 



A. D. 1827. 



185 



about, to preach in this place. Even by this arrangement, I 
must disappoint many fraternities of believers and inquirers in 
other places, who look to me for ministerial visits." 

ANOTHER WELCOME VISITANT. 

April 15t7i. — This morning our tJiM child, the Jlrst' 
daughter, was born ; — whom, on Sunday, July 8th, we 
publicl}^ dedicated by the name of Eunice Hale. All 
well. 

THE EASTERN ASSOCIATION. 

This body met in Livermore June 21th, and remained in 
session two days. Present, — R. Streeter, Jabez Wood- 
man, Wm. A. Drew, J. B. Dods, Wm. Frost, S. Cobb, F. 

Mace, Henry Hawkins, Dolloff, George Bates, F. A. 

Hodsdon, Wilbur, and Whittier. Sermons were 

preached by Brs. Woodman, Dods, Frost, Cobb and 
Streeter. License was granted Br. Wilbur ; and Ordina- 
tion was conferred upon Brs. Woodman, Dods, Hodsdon 
and Whittier. The occasion, altogether, was one of deep 
interest. 

MY FIRST VISIT TO MALDEN, MASS. 

Having received an invitation from the Committee of the 
First Parish in Maiden, Mass., to preach a few Sundays in 
their Parish Meeting House at my earliest convenience, and 
desiring to visit my friends in Massachusetts, I accepted 
the invitation, and appointed to preach in that place on the 
Jirst, second and third Sundays in August. 

I made the journey to meet this engagement with my 
own team ; arrived in Boston Aug. 2d ; dined that day with 
16* 



186 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Br. S. Streeter, and the next day with Dr. A. R. Thomp- 
son of Charlestown. During these two days I made the 
acquaintance of Br. Thomas Whittemore of Cambridgeport, 
by whose advice the Maiden Committee extended to me 
this invitation, and several other worthy friends, and visited 
places of interest in the city, and in Charlesto^vn. On the 
evening of the 3d, I preached Br. Streeter's Preparatory 
Lecture in his Yestry. 

August, First Sunday. — I was on hand in Maiden. But 
I did not preach in the First Parish Meeting House, as I 
■was invited to do. The stoet is this : — Rev. Aaron 
Green, who had been the minister of that Parish thirty-six 
years, had resigned the Pastorate, and the Parish, at a 
meeting called for the election of a Supplj'ing Committee, 
elected upon that Committee a majority of Universalists. 
It was by the ruling of this majority that I was invited by 
the Chairman to supply as above noted. This was the 
" Territorial Parish," as the First Parish in each town was 
denominated under the Parochial laws of Massachusetts in 
her Colonial and early State capacity. And as all the citi- 
zens of a town had been regarded as members of the Terri- 
torial Parish, who had not contracted membership in a 
" Voluntary " or " Poll Parish," it was supposed that the 
members of Poll Parishes, by withdi-awing from such Par- 
ishes, fell back of course into the Territorial Parish as 
members. Under this view of the matter, another meeting 
was called of the First Parish for the purpose of adding to 
their Supplying Committee ; and a sufficient number of 
members went through some form of withdrawal from the 
Baptist and Methodist societies, and voted at this second 
meeting of the First society, to make a majority against 
the Universalists ; and a sufficient number of our opposers 
were added to the Committee to change the character of 



A, D. 1827. 



187 



the majority ; and the action of the Committee in relation 
to me was countermanded, and the old Church was not 
accessible to me. 

But my friends were none the less desirous that I should 
fulfil my appointments in the town ; and our meetings were 
held in a large School House Hall. 

This week, after the Sabbath, I improved in visiting, for 
the first time, my relatives in Middleboro', 35 miles South 
of Boston, from which -place my father, with all the family 
older than myself, moved to Norway in 1797. My first call 
there was upon my uncle Levi Cobb, my father's youngest 
brother, who occupied the old homestead. The visit to this 
old mansion, which had been the home of several of my 
progenitors, was fraught with thrilling interest. I called 
also upon all my father's surviving brothers and sisters, 
who, besides Levi, were James and Isaiah ; and Rebecca 
and Lydia, the former of whom married a Perkins, and the 
latter a Shaw. On Friday evening I preached a lecture in 
the house of my Uncle James. Saturday I returned 
towards my Sunday's field of labor as far as Boston, and 
spent the night with Br. Hosea Ballon. He presented me 
with the following letter, which he had received during my 
absence at Middleborough, from the Committee of the 
Universalist society in Hartford, Ct. : — 

"Haetford, Aug. 7, 1827. 

Eev. Hosea Ballou: 

Dear Sir, — Regarding you as the great apostle of truth of 
the present day, and knowing the interest you have ever mani- 
fested for the prosperity of the Universalist Society in this city, 
we make no apology for addressing you on a subject connected 
with its concerns. Having been informed by Mr. Ruggles that 
you named Mr. Cobb of Maine as a man whom you thought 
might be profitably employed in the ministry here, and Mr. Cobb 
being also well reputed by Mr. Wright and others, we were 



188 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



induced to write him at Waterville requesting him to visit Hart- 
ford to preach three or more Sabbaths as soon as lie could con- 
veniently leave home ; and suggesting that, if the people should 
be pleased with his performances in the pulpit and with his per- 
sonal deportment, the society might make him an offer of per- 
manent employment, should he desire it. 

" In answer to the letter we have received one from Mrs. 
Cobb of the 3d inst., informing us that her husband was absent, 
and that he was to preach in Maiden on the first, second and 
third Sabbaths in the present month. As Maiden, we believe, 
is but four or five miles from Boston, we presume so much on 
your goodness as to request that you would see him, if conven- 
ient, in our behalf. We are anxious that Mr. Cobb, if he should 
conclude to come on here at all, should be here on the third 
Sabbath in this month, and have supposed that he might get 
some one to supply his place on that day in Maiden. Whether 
he can come then, or at any subsequent time, we wish to be in- 
formed as soon as possible. 

'* We salute you as friends and brethren. 

" JOHN M. NILES, ^ 

"J. P. RAMSEY, > Committee:' 

- WILLIAM BENTON, J 

The next morning (Sunday), I went out to my second 
days' service in Maiden. During the intermission I read 
to a collection of my friends there the Hartford letter, and 
conferred with them on the question of their relinquishment 
to the Hartford society of their claim on my third Sabbath 
service with them. We deliberated in view of the following 
plan on the part of my Maiden friends : — The enlarged 
and discordant Parish Committee were in office for the 
balance of the fiscal year, to the next annual March meet- 
ing. M^y friends were confident that then the Parish would 
elect me as their pastor if I would come and preach a few 
Sundays in the Hall, before the Parish meeting ; and they 
desired that I should hold myself in a situation which would 
admit of my doing so if I should then be so disposed. I, 



A. D. 1827. 



189 



on my part, stated to them that I was of the opinion that 
I should not be pleased to remove to Hartford, even if I 
were invited ; that I was not inclined to spend with them 
there the several Sundays which they asked on candidacy ; 
but I would like to visit that city, and thought it best that 
I should go and spend the next Sunday there, by which 
means I could probably' dismiss the idea of further negoti- 
ations with that society. With these views consent was 
given to relinquish the next Sabbath's preaching by me in 
Maiden ; I forthwith wrote the Committee accordingly 
at Hartford ; and preached in the Universalist Church in 
that city on the Third Sunday in August. I had a pleas- 
ant visit, and left the Committee without any engagement 
for another visit ; but with the understanding that they 
would communicate to me on their affairs at a future time. 
Soon afterwards the Chairman of the Committee wrote me 
that Rev. Menzies Rayner, an Episcopal Clergyman of good 
order of talent, had just avowed himself a Universalist ; 
that he had been pastor of the Episcopal Church in Hart- 
ford, and had many warm friends in that city ; and that 
many members of the Universalist society were of the 
opinion- that it would be greatl}^ to their advantage to set- 
tle him as their pastor. To this posture of affairs my heart 
responded, Amen. For though the Committee kindly sug- 
gested that I might, nevertheless, receive a call from the 
society, I was now happily free from all thoughts of negoti- 
ation in that direction. My renewed engagement with 
Waterville, and the work on my hands elsewhere in Maine, 
forbade my removal within that year, from the State of 
Maine, to any place. And the general understanding that 
I should again represent Waterville in the Legislature the 
ensuing winter, constituted a tie upon my pride and self- 
ishness to hold me back from a sudden removal. And I 



190 



BEV. SYLVAKUS COBB, D.D. 



entertained the opinion that, if I should be inclined to 
change my situation the next Spring, I should find accessi- 
ble to me the Parish in Maiden, a pleasant suburb of Bos- 
ton, to my mind the most desirable of all cities in the 
world. 

So I returned to my family in Waterville, and to my 
people there and everywhere else in Maine, cheerfully 
resuming my CA^angelical labors, and carrying out my 
assumed obligations. 

THE SERVICE I DID NOT PERFORM. 

On my return homeward from Hartford, I reached Por^?a7icZ 
about noon. On my arrival, I was at once informed that 
Rev. John Bisbee, the newly elected Pastor of the Univer- 
salist society in that cit}^, was to be installed into that office 
at 3 o'clock p. M. of that day ; and that the Committee had 
assigned to me the deliver}^ of the Installation Sermon. 
They had been informed of my absence, and had written to 
several places westward, but none of their letters had 
reached me. I learned that Br. Bisbee, having nearly given 
up all hope of my presence, not having heard from me, 
commenced, the day before, preparing himself for the part 
assigned me. He, nevertheless, was solicitous that I 
should preach. But as I had arrived at so late an hour 
with no knowledge of the arrangement, nor of the Instal- 
lation, and was of course, then, when the time of service 
was just at hand, without any preparation, I respectfully 
declined ; and Br. Bisbee preached a good sermon. Br. 
Edward Turner, then of Portsmouth, delivered the Charge ; 
and it devolved upon me to offer the Installation Praj^er, 
and deliver the Right Hand of Fellowship. 



A. B. 1827. 



191 



THE DEDICATION AT FARMINGTON. 

September QtJi. — Agreeably to previous assignment by 
the appropriate authority, I preached the Sermon on occa- 
sion of the Dedication of a new Universalist Meeting 
House in Farmington. Dedicatory Prayer by Br. Geo. 
Bates. 

INTRODUCTION TO MADAM ANN EOYAL. 

October, Second Sunday. — The celebrated Madam Royal, 
stopping over the Sabbath at Dowe's Hotel in Waterville, 
attended our meeting in the forenoon, and was introduced 
to me after the services. She had travelled much, had 
spent much time in the City of Washington, and also in 
foreign Capitals, called much on professional men in the 
places which she visited ; and kept, and occasionally pub- 
lished a Journal, which she called her " Black Book." Her 
Black Books contained very pointed and pungent observa- 
tions on men and manners which she noted by the way. 
The following is an extract from her notes of her visit at 
Waterville, published in her next subsequent issue of her 
Black Book. It may seem indiscreet in me to copy it 
here : — but — pshaw, it belongs to the life-story : — let my 
posterity have it. 

"In the forenoon, on Sunday, went to hear the Universalist, 
one of the first orators of the State. He was a young man in 
the vigor of life ; very handsome person, and very engaging 
aspect. He spoke like one who set a just value on the indepen- 
dence and liberty of speech, and the freedom of religion. His 
voice was fine, and language pure and simple. He represented 
hypocrisy and empty show of religion in their true colors, and in 
the most undaunted language." 



192 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



THE DEDICATION AT READFIELD. 

By assignment agreeable to vote of the proprietors, of 
different sects, I preached the Dedicatory Sermon at the 
Consecration of a new Union Meeting House in Readfield, 
November Ibth. Rev. Mr. Williams, Methodist, offered the 
Prayer of Dedication. 

THE CLOSE OF THE YEAR. 

I copy from my Journal : — 

" December olst. — An evening lecture in Bath. 

"So another year has passed away; and its last evening I 
spent in the labor which is my pre-eminent delight, preaching 
the gospel to the wanting children of men. During the year 
just past, I and my family have been blessed with uniform 
health ; and happiness beyond the power of language to describe 
has been a constant inmate of our home. Love to one another 
is the element in which we live ; nor has it ever been darkened 
with clouds, or perturbed by storms from the pervasion of jar- 
ring elements. The highest glory of each has been the doing 
of something to promote the happiness of the other ; and thus 
we have been under the government o'f what may be justly 
termed the perfect laio of libei'ty. And while mutual confidence 
and mutual love have yielded us a constant flow of purest pleas- 
ures, those pleasures have been exalted by a grateful remem- 
brance and constant veneration of the God of love, whom we 
trust and adore as the Author of all our blessings. So even 
those blessings which seem to be the fruit of our own virtues, 
we, without boasting, ascribe to God as their source, humbly 
confessing in the interrogatory strain of the apostle, * For what 
have we that we did not receive ? ' 

" With regard to my public labors, I believe that their effects 
have been visible to a considerable extent, as tending to the 
improvement and happiness of mankind.'' 



A. I). 182S. 



193 



A. D. 1828. 

JANUARY AND FEBRUARY. 

Having been re-elected by the citizens of Waterville as 
their Representative in the State Legislature for A. D. 
1828, I spent most of these two months in Portland, where 
that body yet held its sessions. Enoch Lincoln was Gov- 
ernor, Robert P. Dunlap President of the Senate, and John 
Ruggles Speaker of the House, as last year. Our atten- 
tion was chiefly devoted to the ordinary affairs of legisla- 
tion in a new and growing State, relating mostly to local 
interests. 

I boarded with the same family as the previous winter, 
that of Capt. John M. Knight. During the session of 
the Legislature I preached the first Sunday in Brunswick; 
the second in Bath; the third in Brunswick ; the fourth in 
Bath; the fifth in Brunswick; and the sixth in Portland: — 
and delivered evening lectures in Freeport, Brunsicick, 
Portland, in Freeport again. New Gloucester, and Gray 
Corner. 

The Legislature adjourned Feb. 21st. On the morning 
of the 2 2d I started from Portland for my long ago prom- 
ised ministerial visit to Maiden, Mass. Mrs. Cobb, 
with our babe, Eunice Hale, then ten months old, ac- 
companied me. Being desirous that she should be with 
me on this important trial visit at Maiden, I had sent 
for her to join company with me in Portland two weeks 
previousl}^, at the same pleasant home where we boarded 
together during the whole Legislative session the previous 
winter. We went to Maiden by stage, over an uncom- 
fortably muddy road, and reached the point of our destina- 
tion the 23d. Our regular boarding place during this visit 
17 



194 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



was Br. Uriah Chamberlain's. Our calls, and evening 
social sittings, however, were very extensively distributed 
among the members of the Parish. 

My special mission at this juncture was, by preaching in 
the Town Hall the four Sabbaths preceding the annual 
Parish Meeting, to educate a sufficient additional number 
of the members of the Parish into the liglit and love of the 
gospel in its fulness, to procure a vote at that meeting 
which should undo the wrong committed by a minority last 
Summer by the aid of foreign votes, and permanently 
commit the Parish to the interests of our cause. I preached 
in that Hall, to large and deeply interested audiences, the 
last Sunday in February, and the first three Sundays in 
March. 

March 20t7i. — This was the day of trial between the two 
theological divisions of Maiden's First Eeligious Society. 
It was the day of the annual Parish Meeting. There had 
been much electioneering — probably on both sides. But 
there had been so much fairness and honor in the course 
of the Universalists, at the time of, and since, the strife 
of last Summer, when there was so much trick and injustice 
practised by their opposers, that they had, to a great 
extent, the sympathy of the candid of different religious 
societies ; and the opinion seemed to be prevalent that the 
better justice would take place, and the greater good accrue 
to the town, by the success of the Universalists in electing 
their officers, and obtaining possession of the Parish 
Church, Parsonage and funds. 

Late in the afternoon a messenger came to my room 
with the good tidings that my friends had succeeded in 
the election of their candidates to officer the Parish 
throughout, and had instructed their Committee to contract 
"vith me for a year if they could do so on reasonable terms. 



A. D. 1S28. 



195 



And the election and instruction of Committee were passed 
by votes of 30 majority over all the combined forces that 
could be mustered in the opposition. 

In the evening, the Committee called upon me, and com- 
municated the desire of the Parish to settle me as their 
regular Pastor. The question, however, of a permanent 
settlement, could not be legally determined, but by the 
action of the Parish at a meeting called with an article in 
the Warrant specifying that item of business. But, antic- 
ipating such subsequent legal action, the Committee, 
agreeably to instruction as above, proposed to me an 
engagement for one year, on a salary of $800, with the 
understanding that the same should be continued from year 
to year, until it should be changed by mutual agreement. 
I accepted the proposition, providing that my regular ser- 
vices under the engagement should commence on the third 
Sunday in April proximo. 

It cost me a painful effort to determine on a removal 
from my native State, over which I had labored so exten- 
sively, and in which I had contracted so numerous friend- 
,ships. And, to add to my embarrassments, as I was about 
leaving Portland, at the close of -my Legislative term of 
service there, on this trial visit to Maiden, I received an 
official communication from the Committees, jointly, of the 
new Universalist societies which had been organized under 
my itinerant labors in Brunswick, Bath, and Bowdoinham, 
inviting my settlement with them, and proposing terms 
which, all things considered, were about as favorable pe- 
cuniarily as those now proposed by Maiden. It was con- 
templated that I should make Brunswick the place of my 
residence (a most pleasant locality indeed), and, preaching 
equal portions of the time in the three towns respectively, 
have but eight miles to ride to either of the other places. 



196 



REV. SYLVA^'US COBB, T>.D. 



But I had for six months been under an engagement to 
make this visit to Maiden at this time, with the understand- 
ing that I would settle in the Pastorate over this Parish 
provided all things should be made acceptable as the 
result of the trial. Accordingly I was not at liberty to 
answer my friends in Maine, until I had made the prom- 
ised trial in Maiden ; and then, the result bound me to 
return a negative answer. Nevertheless, on receiving the 
communication of the Committees aforesaid, I did write my 
friends in Maiden, asking them to relinquish my prelimi- 
nary visit there, and of course my candidacy for settlement 
with them altogether. I expressed a preference, all things 
considered, for the new opportunity in my native State. 
But those Maiden friends tenaciously clung to their claim 
as per all agreement ; and the result I have recorded 
above. 

With regard to Waterville, while my friends there were 
desirous of continuing their arrangement of the i)revious 
year, for my services three fourths of the time, I saw that 
it brought too heavy a responsibility upon a few leading 
members. And then, I felt an ardent desire to be so sit- 
uated that I could be more generally at home with mj 
family, and free from the necessity which the countless 
calls imposed upon my susceptible and yielding nature, of 
performing so much extra labor, in the manner of lectures. 
How illy I succeeded in this latter respect, my readers 
will see in the perusal of the subsequent pages of these 
records. 

IN THE PARISH MEETING HOUSE. 

I tarried in Maiden over the next Sunday after the annual 
meeting aforesaid, and preached for the first time in the 



A. D. 1828. 



197 



substantial old "BRICK CHURCH." We had a full 
meeting, and an interesting occasion of course. 

Then we returned to Waterville, took home our two little 
boys, Sylvanus Jr. and Samuel Tucker, whom we found in 
good health and cheer at Br. Blackwell's, who had boarded 
them during Mrs. Cobb's absence of six weeks, since she 
left home to join company with me at Portland, preparatory 
to attending me on my mission to Maiden ; and busied our- 
selves in preparations for the purposed removal. 

Aprils First Sunday. — I delivered m3^ Valedictory to 
my congregation in Waterville, West Meeting House. 

Aprils Second Sunday. — The same painful service was 
performed in the East or Village congregation. 

These were affecting occasions. This was my first set- 
tled home after I left the Parental Mansion ; I had been 
here about seven years. And I was the first and only 
Pastor who had ever been with this society. The mutual 
attachments between us were exceedingly strong. 

I improved this week in removing my family and " ef- 
fects " to Maiden. My furniture, and cow, I sent by ship 
to Boston ; and went to Maiden with my family by stage. 
Sold my old chaise in Waterville, and committed my horse 
to the care of Barker Dingly — whom I had engaged to 
carry on the Parsonage farm for the season — who rode to 
Maiden upon his back the next week. 

April 20t7i^ TJiird Sunday. — I occupied the Old Brick 
Church of the First Parish of Maiden^ Massachusetts, as the 
regular PASTOR. 

IN THE PARSONAGE HOUSE. 

April 22cL — Our furniture having arrived from Water- 
ville, we this day took up our abode, which proved to be a 
17* 



198 



r.EV. SYLVAKUS COBB, D.D. 



ten years abode, in the Parsonage House. It was a large 
house, and afforded us abundant and very convenient room. 
In connection with this house, the "Parsonage," so called, 
comprised a barn, and about twenty acres of land, for the 
care and cultivation of which I hired a young man six 
months in each j^ear. 

At this point I will jot down a brief 

HISTORY OF THE PARISH. 

This Parish was organized, with the town of Maiden, in 
1649. There are numbers of notable names in the line of 
my predecessors in the pastoral office here, among which 
is the famous Michael Wigglesworth. But the people, as 
it appears from the Records, were always about equally 
divided between the two wings of the old Congregational 
order, the Calvinists and Arminians. Sometimes one of 
these parties would succeed in the election of a Pastor of 
its sympathies, and sometimes the other. This division 
occasioned frequent changes of Pastors. But my immedi- 
ate predecessor. Rev. Aaron Green, held the Pastorate a 
long while, thirty-six years. When the split took place 
between the two wings, the Arminians taking the name 
Unitarian, Mr. Green kept himself quiet. He preached 
gootl morality, but not distinctive doctrines. His sympa- 
thies, however, were commonly understood to preponderate 
in favor of the Unitarian School. Consequently the Trini- 
tarian portion of the church became dissatisfied, and given 
to fault-finding. This rendered Mr. Green's situation 
unpleasant, and induced his withdrawal. The Pastorate 
being thus made vacant, the majority of the Parishioners 
exercised the same legal and moral right in providing for 
the ministry of their faith and settling the Pastor of tlieir 



A. B. 1828. 



199 



choice, which had been exercised by their ancestors from 
the beginning. 

The property of the Parish was the Parsonage before 
described ; the Church, a substantial and commodious 
brick edifice, old-fashioned in its interior construction ; 
and a wood-lot, from which, per contract, the Committee 
sent me twenty cords of wood a year, reckoned as one 
hundred dollars of my salary. 

May 8th. — The members of the old church who remained 
with us, and other fr-iends, met at my house, and initiated 
measures for a reorganization. 

THE SOUTHERN ASSOCIATION. 

June Uh. — The Southern Association met in Oxford, 
Mass., and continued in session two days. Sermons were 
preached on the occasion by M. Rayner, S. Cobb, J. P. 
Fuller, J. Wood, S. Streeter and B. Whittemore. 

LEGALIZATION OF THE SETTLEMENT. 

In my record of the action of the Parish meeting of 
March 20th, I noted the fact that the arrangement of the 
Committee with me pursuant to rote of that meeting must, 
to be rendered legal, be re-enacted, or ratified, by a subse- 
quent meeting called by a Warrant with an article provid- 
ing for this business. This meeting took place June 25th, 
having been delayed until the malcontents should have 
generally withdrawn from the Parish to avoid taxation, and 
a condition of comparative quiet should have obtained. 
This course of procedure was a happy conception. The 
meetiug was harmonious, and the business was transacted 
in unit}' of spirit and piu-pose. A form of contract betweeu 



200 



HBV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



me and the Parish was drawn up and unanimously passed, 
establishing the salary as formerl}^ proposed, and providing 
that my relation as Pastor should be continued, until I 
should resign the charge ; or the Parish, by a two thirds 
vote, determine my dismissal ; and one year after notice by 
either party for the dissolution of the connection. 

The reason for provision requiring a two thirds vote, and 
a year's notice, was this : It was understood that members 
of other societies in the town, by withdrawing therefrom, 
fell back as a matter of course into the Town Parish, hav- 
ing the right to vote in its business meetings. And it was 
known to be the purpose of the malcontents who withdrew 
from us on my settlement to avoid taxation, by attaching 
themselves to other societies, to return in season to come 
in at our next annual Parish meeting, and bring with them 
a host of allies who were regular members of other socie- 
ties, and carry a strong vote to restore the Parish to Cal- 
vinist dominion. But, happily for us, the law had been 
misunderstood ; and, as construed by the Court, it proved 
our protector. 

Yes, verily; — At the March Meeting of 1829, the 
seceders came in, with their promiscuous allies, and offered 
their votes. Our Clerk, Charles Hill, the Iron Man, had 
his " Check List" of acknowledged legal voters; and he 
refused votes from all besides. They prosecuted our Clerk 
for deprivation of a legal right. But the Court decided 
that, in the spirit of Common Law, and of the improved 
Statutes of Massachusetts, the First religious society in a 
town, as well as others, had the power of self protection 
by the enactment of rules for constituting membership. It 
proved to be the fact, furthermore, that those whose votes 
were refused as above, had not legally disconnected them- 
selves from the societies from which they claimed to have 



A. D. 1828. 



201 



withdi'awn. But our enemies continued tlieir warfare for 
about four j^ears. Duiing all this time the}^ had something 
in Court in the process of this warfare ; in all they insti- 
tuted about twenty suits and complaints, and failed in 
them all ! 

Then they gave up. The Trinitarian seceders organized 
themseh^es into a separate society, built them a Church, 
and settled a pastor, and there was a settled state of peace. 
It was the general sentiment of that communit}^, in which 
the defeated parties seemed to participate, that the Univer- 
salists had been manly and honorable in their coui'se of 
procedure throughout, and that the permanent settlement 
of the Parish question was as it should be. During the 
half dozen years more, of my residence in Maiden, I en- 
joyed the most pleasant and happy relations with the 
people of all religious societies, and their ministers. 

THAT LECTURING BUSINESS. 

I have said that one of the considerations which in- 
duced me to remove from my old position in Maine, to 
Maiden, was my desire for freedom from the necessitj^ of 
performing so much extra labor, in the manner of lectures, 
&c. But the same enticements soon began to beset my 
sympathetic and yielding nature. Early in this month 
(June), a gentleman from Stoneham, an adjoining town, 
called upon me with the request that I should preach a 
lecture in that place on the first convenient Sundaj^ even- 
ing. I lectured there, in a large School House, on the 
evening of the Fourth Sunday in June ; and continued to 
lecture in that place, at 5 o'clock p. m. in the long daj^s. 
and by candle light in the season of short daj's, once 9 
fortnight, for about seven years. Of com-se I x^rovided 



202 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, I).D. 



substitutes sometimes. In the succeeding summer I com- 
menced lecturing Sunday evenings in South Reading ; and 
for several years preached there on Sundaj^ cA^enings as 
often as I could find time besides my attention to Stone- 
ham ; and to delivering a third discourse to my Maiden 
congregation, who exacted such service about monthly. 
Indeed, to keep the work up with the demand as nearly as 
possible, I sometimes lectured in Stoneham at 5 o'clock 
p. M., and then in South Reading at candle-lighting, the 
same Sundays ; and at other times in Stoneham at 5, and 
in my own Church at Maiden at 8 in the evening ; making, 
with the regular service at home, four discourses in the 
day. 

Meanwhile Br. Charles Hill, our Sexton and Parish 
Clerk, who retailed fresh fish in Maiden which he obtained 
at Swampscot Beach, was teasing me to go down with him 
and preach to his fishermen some week evening. This, he 
said, numbers of them desired. But the idea of preaching 
to the fishermen of Swampscot on a week evening seemed 
to me like " stumping it," and I gave no attentive consid- 
eration to the matter. But at length I instructed my friend 
Hill to say to his fishermen, that, if they really desired a 
lecture, and would appoint a week evening for its delivery, 
I would accompany him to the place, and accommodate 
them. May 12th, 1831, was appointed, and I was on 
hand, and addressed a numerous auditory in and around a 
large School House in Swampscot. A deep interest was 
excited ; the shoe makers in the village were said to keep 
the New. Testament on their benches, for the familiar ref- 
erence which was called for by the religious inquiries which 
the new preaching had excited. I was engaged to preach 
there again at my earliest convenience, and continued my 



A. D. 1831. 



203 



lectures in that School House on every other Thursday 
evening till Deceraber. 

October 12tJi, 1831. — I lectured in the afternoon in Me- 
chanics' Hall, Wood-End, in Lynn, about a mile and a half 
from the Swampscot School House. This appointment 
was procured by Wood-End people who attended the 
Swampscot lectures. When I approached the Hall, I per- 
ceived that the stairs leading into the Hall, which were 
outside of the building, were crowded with people ; and 
quite a compauj' were standing around the foot of the 
stairs. I supposed that the keeper of the Hall was late 
with his key, and that these people were waiting for the 
opening of the Hall door. But I found that the Hall was 
filled, and that there was lack of room inside for this crowd 
which had attracted my attention. Therefore I took my 
stand near the head of the stairs, that I might address both 
wings of m}^ auditory. Arrangement was forthwith made 
for lectures in Mechanics' Hall Thursday evenings every 
other week, alternating with those in Swampscot ; so that 
they had between them a lecture every week. But in 
January, 1832, the meetings at Swampscot were discon- 
tinued, and our friends in that District joined in with those 
at Wood-End, where they were continued through another 
year, and generally on Sunday evenings. I arranged to 
give them Sunday evening services, because it would 
greatly accommodate them, and the field was so promising 
of the 3-ield of a strong and permanent society shortly. To 
effect this arrangement, I devolved the Stoneham lectures 
upon the Pastor at Woburn, Rev. D. D. Smith. 

January, 1833. — Our Lynn lectures were removed to 
the Town Hall, a commodious building near the Head of 
the Common. Many from the Common had attached them- 
selves to our meetings at Wood-End ; and this change of 



204 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



location for the services both furnished a much more con- 
venient room, and better accommodated, as to distance, 
our friends in all parts of the town. 

And now, the ultimate purpose of this mission of mine 
was soon accomplished, in the organization of a strong 
permanent society of earnest working members, and the 
settlement of a resident Pastor. Early in March the 
society contracted with Rev. J. C. Waldo to labor with 
them in that capacity ; and he forthwith entered upon the 
work, and made Ljmu his famil}^ abode. 

Such is the history of the Origin of the First Universal- 
IST Society in Lynn. 

LYNN SECOND SOCIETY. 

The First Society prospered, and soon erected a commo- 
dious Church at Wood-End. This was a favorable local- 
ity for that Church, as the Swampscot people were thereby 
accommodated ; and there were then more Universalist 
families in that District, than in West Lynn, or the 
Common. 

But, in process of time, that process being but three 
years, believers had so multiplied in the West part of 
Lynn, that they conceived the idea of a Second Society. 
They wrote me on the subject, soliciting from me a few 
lectures to give them a start. I yielded assent, of course, 
and preached the first discourse for the nursing into being 
a Second Universalist Society in Lynn, on the evening of 
the Second Sunday in February, 1836. The meeting was 
held in the building which was the former Baptist Meeting 
House, in a hall constructed by the putting in of a middle 
floor, and making a pleasant and convenient upper audience 
room. At the close of this service the brethren voted that 



A. D. 1828-36. 



205 



they ^ould j)roceed forthwith to the organization of a 
Second Universalist Society in Lynn. 

THE SLIGHT BREAK-DOWN. 

February^ 1836, Fouiih jSunday. — On this erening I 
preached for the regularly organized Second Universalist 
Society in L^'iin. We met in the Hall or audience room of 
the old Baptist Church, before described. The Hall was 
crowded. Eveiy seat was occupied, and eveiy square foot 
of standing room upon the floor ; and the door and stair- 
ways. As I was about to commence services, the floor of 
the centre of the Hall settled a foot or more, causing a 
general pressure of the people towards the doors for egress. 
I sprang to one of the doors, and raised my voice to hush 
the people, lest a general rush down the stairs should iujure 
mam\ I succeeded in moderating their movement, so that 
all passed out safel}'. By invitation of a member of the 
First Society's Committee, we marched to their Meetiug 
House, and conducted our services there. 

It was found b}' examination the next morniug, that the 
settling of the Hall floor was from the giving way of a sill 
of the lower floor, which was about two feet from the 
ground, on which rested a pillar supporting the floor occu- 
pied by my audience. 

This new society forthwith provided itself with regular 
Sabbath services, and soon purchased a respectable Meet- 
ing House on the Common, nearly opposite the Lyun 
Hotel ; and it has prospered under a succession of worth}^ 
Pastors. It had, from the beginning, the good will of the 
First Societj^ ; and the two bodies have ever worked in 
mutual harmon}^ and brotherl}^ love. 

Meanwhile the few Universalists in South Danvers were 
18 



206 



EEV. SYLVAKUS COBB, D.D. 



indulging the thought of procuring a few lectures prepara- 
tory to the gathering of a society and procuring regular 
religious instruction in the faith of " the glorious gospel 
of the blessed God." The Pastor of the Universalist 
Society in Salem, at that time, held such relations with the 
Unitarian minister of South Danvers, that he declined 
giving his aid to the gathering of a Universalist Societ}^ in 
that place. Then my services were called for in aid of the 
noble design. " Immediately I conferred not with flesh 
and blood," but yielded to the call from this people also, 
that I might preach unto them the gospel of peace. 

February, 1832, Fourth Sunday. — In the evening, I 
delivered a lecture in Dr. Shedd's Hall, South Danvers. 
The Hall was densely crowded. 

I held but few more meetings there, before a society was 
organized. And, in the beginning of 1833, Br. John Moore 
was settled with them in the regular Pastoral relation. 

Saughs, too, for several of these j^ears, came in for often 
lectures ; — during 1833, for one every fortnight. 

And now that I am on the project of getting away from 
any considerable extra labor by moving from Maine to 
Massachusetts, 1 will add here, though it is spreading some- 
what, that, during these same years, Epping, Kingston 
Plain, East Kingston, Southampton, Plaistow, Hampstead, 
Sandown, Danville and Amoskeag Falls (now Manchester), 
N. H., pressed upon me with requests for several Sundays' 
preaching, some more and others less, each season. So 
also did West Newbury, and Franklin, Mass. ; — and nu- 
merous other places far through the country, for occasion- 
ally a single Sabbath. And quite generally some lecturing, 
besides the regular Sabbath services, must needs be per- 
formed when out in those various fields of labor. 

My soul travailed for those numerous children of my 



A, D. 1828-1836. 



207 



Father, far and near, hungering and thirsting after righte- 
ousness. But here I was, a settled Pastor, in charge of an 
important Parish, whose interests I could not innocently 
neglect. What should I do ? 

This I did : — I made my direct exchanges with the able 
settled pastors within ordinary exchanging distance com- 
• * paratively far between ; and as they desired a Sabbath's 
appointment conveniently near, occasionall}^, that they 
might accommodate a favorite minister from abroad by 
giving him the supply of their pulpit at the same time, I 
was on the lookout for these opportunities, and thus fre- 
quently obtained the services of one of those pastors for my 
congregation, when I went out to some one of these tran- 
sient appointments. This was the same to my people at 
home as if I had provided the. able preacher for the day by 
regular or direct exchange. And when this recourse failed 
me in the arrangement of my supplies, I alwa3^s found good 
and acceptable preachers disengaged for the time, whom I 
could place in my pulpit to the edification of my people. 
But, notwithstanding I devoted so great amount of labor to 
the gathering of new societies, and the extension of the 
kingdom of Christ over a wide area, I so economized that, 
during the ten years of my pastoral relation in Maiden, I 
was at home with my society nearly two-thirds of the five 
hundred and twenty Sundays. I include in the list at Jiome, 
several Sundaj^s on which I exchanged with neighboring 
ministers half of the day ; in which cases I usually preached 
in my own desk an evening lecture, making two discourses 
at home. In the portion of Sundays absent I also include 
the three or four which I, as per fixed rule of duty, appro- 
priated each year to my summer vacation on a visit to my 
mother, and other friends, in Maine. On these Sundays I 
supplied my desk at home at my own expense, not having 



208 



BEV. STLVANUS COBS, U.D. 



a summer vacation voted me by the Parish, as our Pastors 
have in later years. In the portion of my Sabbaths awaj^, 
I also include those over which I was necessarily kept away 
in attendance on distant Conventions and Associations. 
Furthermore, to the account of my home labors I will add, 
that I uniformly held a service and delivered a discourse, 
on Fast, Thanksgiving and Christmas da3^s. None of these 
services should in later years have been dispensed with in 
our congregations. Fast and Thanksgiving Days afford a 
faithful Pastor a signal opportunity for special and pointed 
labor on subjects which essentially concern the social and 
political interests, especially in their moral bearings, of the 
State and the Republic. 

THE INSTALLATION. 

July 30i7i, 1828. — This day I was publicly installed as 
Pastor of the First Religious CliurcJi and Society in Mai- 
den^ Massachusetts. As the Parish meeting for the legal- 
ization of my settlement had been delayed to June 25th, 
that the jarring elements might become comparatively 
quiet (see page 199), so the Installation was put off^ another 
month, that the senseless excitement produced hy the 
former transaction among the Trinitarian seceders might 
have time to expend itself. 

The Installing Council met in the large parlor of Wm. 
Barrett, Esq., at 10 o'clock a. m., and elected Rev. Hosea 
Ballou Moderator. A request in writing was handed to 
the Moderator, signed by Charles Lewis, Esq., the lawyer 
who had led the opposition, Bernard Green, Esq., and 
Thomas Odiorne, asking permission to come before the 
Council, and state objections to their proceeding with the 
Installation. And they had hired a lawyer, Parker, of 



A. D. 1S28. 



209 



Cliarlestown, who was waiting at the Inn to present him- 
self before the Council in aid of the petitioners. But the 
Moderator, in behalf of the Council, sent answer to the 
petitioners, that the Parish Records furnished them with 
all necessary information in the premises, and they had no 
occasion for their services. So these adversaries were 
foiled in their scheme for getting upon the floor of the 
Council, and occupying the time which was assigned for 
the public services of Installation. They went their way 
discomfited, and troubled us no more. 

When the Council had completed their arrangements, a 
procession was formed in front of Br. Barrett's house, and 
marched in due order to the Church, headed by a fine band 
of martial music. The air was serene, the music mellif- 
luous, and the scene beautiful. The church was filled, and 
the services were conducted in the following order : — 

1. Voluntary by the choir, " Who can express the noble 
acts of the Lord." 2. Original Hymn. 3. Introductory 
Prayer by Rev. Hosea Ballon, of Boston. 4. Anthem, 
" Rejoice in the Lord.'' 5. Sermon by Rev. Sebastian 
Streeter, of Boston, from 2 Tim. ii. 24, 25 : " And the ser- 
vant of the Lord must not strive; hut he gentle unto all men, 
apt to teach, patient ; in meekness instructing those that oppose 
themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance 
to the aclcnoiijledging of the truth." 6. Installing Praj^er by 
Rev. Thomas Whittemore, of Cambridgeport. 7. Charge 
by Rev. Hosea Ballon, of Boston. 8. Right Hand of Fel- 
lowship b}'- Rev. Russell Streeter, of Watertown. 9. Con- 
cluding Prayer by Rev. Walter Balfour, of Charlestown. 

10. Anthem, " The Great Jehovah is our aivful theme." 

11. Benediction by the Pastor elect. 

The following is the original Hymn, composed for the 
occasion by the Pastor elect : — 
18* 



210 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB^ D.D. 



Tune — Old Hundred. 

Great God, before thy throne we bow, 
To Thee we raise the /ervent prayer; 

Do thou on us thy grace bestow, 
And make us all thy tender care. 

Him thou dost place as Pastor here. 
Wilt thou, Saviour, deign to bless: 

With firmness and with godly fear 
May he declare thy truth and grace. 

May no vain pride his heart possess, 
To wrest thy word, thy truth conceal ; 

Be thou his strength and righteousness, 
And with thy love his bosom fill. 

And on this people, gracious Lord, 
Pour down thy blessings from above ; 

Cause ev'ry heart to love thy word. 
And in thy paths their footsteps move. 

May mutual kindness live and reign. 
Meekness and faith, and holy zeal, 

Thy truth to spread, thy cause maintain, 
And all the works of love fulfil. 

We pray, God — and we believe • 
We've seen thy kindness all our days. 

And long as we existence have, 

We'll celebrate thy wondrous praise. 



As this was one of the most interesting seasons of my 
life ; and as Father Balloti stands in history as one of the 
chief founders and pillars of the Universalist denomination ; 
and as I enjoyed the most happy relation and familiar in- 
tercourse with him during all the remaining 24 j^ears of his 
life ; and as the " Charge " is of peculiar value in itself; I 
copy it here, from the Trumpet and Universalist Magazine 
of August 2, 1828. 



A. D. 1828. 



211 



DELIVERY OF SCRIPTURES AND CHARGE. 

BY EEV. H. BALLOU. 

"Bk. Cobb, — Agreeably to a usage, long established, and in 
compliance with the will of the ecclesiastical council, officiating 
on this occasion, I present you the holy scriptures. 

*' By this act we signify to the world that we regard this vol- 
ume as our guide in the discharge of ministerial duties. In 
these writings we learn the doctrine which we are bound to 
preach. This volume also furnishes the best possible directions 
in which to communicate the divine truths which it contains, and 
how to combat and overthrow the errors of mankind, which 
array themselves against the wisdom of God, as revealed in these 
writings. Their usefulness also extends to the most valuable 
instructions regarding our duty to our God, as moral accountable 
beings, also our duty to each other, and our duty to ourselves ; 
and in this its utility can never be too highly appreciated. 

** The divine goodness towards man is the foundation of the 
religion we profess. The goodness of God, of which so much is 
spoken in the scriptures of the Old Testament, in those of the 
ISTew, is called grace. This goodness or grace is entirely free; 
requiring no merit in us as a condition by which we may secure 
it. It flows spontaneously from the unchangeable mind of our 
heavenly Father, and does not wait to be called forth by any act 
or duty required of us. The supposition that the kindness of 
God is turned towards us by our obedience to his requirements, 
is an error of most injurious tendency, as it entirely shuts from 
our sight the ample fulness of the divine goodness, of which 
these requirements are abundant proof. Our duty to God is 
founded on his goodness, and our obedience is the effect of his 
grace. 

"Impartiality is one of the distinguishing attributes of the 
goodness of God, and of the general theme of doctrine taught in 
the scriptures. ' The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies 
are over all his works.' — ' The wisdom that is from above is first 
pure, then peaceable, gentle and easy to be entreated, full of 
mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypoc- 
risy.' Both the freeness and impartiality of the divine goodness 



212 



REV. SYLVAXVS COBB, D.D. 



are most clearly set forth in the instructions given by the blessed 
Saviour in his Sermon on the Mount. ' Ye have heard that it 
hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine 
enemy : but I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that 
curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them 
that desi)itefully use you and persecute you ; that ye may be the 
children of your Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his 
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the 
just and on the unjust. For if ye love them that love you, what 
reward have ye ? Do not even the publicans the same ? And if 
ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? Do 
not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as 
your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' That partiality which 
is a prominent characteristic of the creeds of men, which origi- 
nated in wisdom earthly and sensual, has no connection with the 
doctrine of the divine goodness ; but is its entire oijposite. 

"The UNCHANGEABLENESS of the divine goodness is another 
most important attribute of the doctrine which the scriptures 
teach. ' I am the Lord : I change not ; therefore, ye sons of 
Jacob are not consumed — Every good gift, and every perfect 
gift, is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, 
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.' 

"That the blessed hope, which the gospel brings to the 
guilty, may be to the soul an anchor sure and steadfast, not to 
be shaken or weakened by the terrors with which a due punish- 
ment of our sins might justly alarm us, the scriptures furnish 
assurance that ' the Lord will not cast off forever ; but though he 
cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multi- 
tude of his mercies. For he doth not afflict willingly nor gi-ieve 
the children of men. — For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, 
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.' 

"And, finally, that the fading beauties and short-lived enjoy- 
ments of this transitory existence, should not be succeeded by 
the gloom of despair, the blessed Saviour of man has brought 
life and immortality to light through the gospel; and given 
assurance, that ' As in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive.' In this blessed assurance the believer in Christ 
embraces his Father in heaven as his unchangeable friend ; he 
embraces the Lord Jesus as the first fruits of them who sleep, 
and all mankind as heirs with himself of that inheritance which 



A. D. 1828. 



213 



is incorruptible, and undefiled, and which fadeth not away, re- 
served in heaven for us. — In this assurance, with deep humil- 
ity and gratitude, we * bow the knee unto the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and 
-earth is named; ' and, in full survey of the desolations of mor- 
tality, are emboldened to sing the triumphant song : ' O death ! 
where is thy sting ? O grave ! where is thy victory ? The sting 
of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks 
be to God which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jesus 
Christ.' 

'* By keeping these prominent attributes of the doctrine of the 
scriptures constantly in view, the minister of the word will be 
enabled to avoid running into dangerous errors, and to enjoy a 
light which will assist him in rightly dividing the word of truth ; 
in maintaining and defending it in opposition to those doctrines, 
by which it has been perverted, on the one hand ; and against 
the sophistry of open infidelity on the other. 

"You are, therefore, charged to regard the plain and clear 
testimony of the written word, which is always capable of being 
illustrated by the works of creation and providence, as your 
guide; carefully avoiding those metaphysical speculations, in 
which too many of our school-men have lost sight of all reality, 
and embraced the wildest and most extravagant chimeras which 
have ever dishonored the cause of religion, or blighted the plants 
of heavenly virtue. 

"My brother, you are charged to fix your eye directly on the 
Lord Jesus. Such doctrine as he preached, do you preach. 
Such methods as he used, to combat and overthrow the errors 
of his time, do you employ to disprove the same errors which 
abound at present, under the name of Christianitj''. Let him be 
your pattern. It would have been easy for the divine teacher, 
had he been disposed, to have accommodated his preaching to 
the prejudices of the Scribes and Pharisees, in such a manner as 
to have avoided their displeasure. And this he would unques- 
tionably have done, ha,d he not known that it would have been 
at the expense of truth. He might just as well have espoused 
the doctrines by which the Jewish church was defiled, as to have 
preached anything else, in such a way as neither to disprove 
their errors on the one hand, nor establish better sentiments on 
the other. 



214 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



" Constantly keep in mind the command of the Saviour to an 
apostle : * Feed my sheep.' If the command had been to terrify 
and harass, to divide and scatter, the fearful and gloomy hor- 
rors, which were engendered in vitiated imaginations, m the 
dark ages, concerning the tortures which a God of wrath will 
inflict in a future state, would be suitable materials for perform- 
ing such cruel labors ; but if to feed the people with knowledge 
and understanding is the duty of the public servants of the great 
Shepherd, then let them carefully avoid those wild imagina- 
tions, and render themselves acquainted with those vast stores 
of the bread of life, which a bountiful God has, in infinite mercy, 
provided for mankind of every nation under heaven. 

" You are charged, my brother, to keep in mind the admoni- 
tions of the divine Master to the disciples, and carefully com- 
municate to the people of your care that light with which your 
own understanding has been and still may be illuminated ; that 
you may justly use the' words of the apostle of the Gentiles : ' I 
have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.' 

*' In your sermons, treat on such subjects as may best suit the 
condition of your people. Let instruction in doctrine occupy a 
reasonable portion of your public labors. Use all due means to 
discover the beauty and excellency of truth, and contrast them 
with the contrary qualities of error. With a skilful hand remove 
the guise with which the craftsmen of the day clothe their 
impious doctrines, and present hypocrisy in its odious character. 

" The prevailing vices of the times are disorders which demand 
the attention of the moral physician. In compassion to man, 
with good-will to society, use all possible persuasion to draw the 
old and the young from those habits and indulgences which 
degrade hum.an nature, and blast all the rational enjoyments of 
life. To do this, carefully shun the preposterous practice of 
allowing that the vicious are the most happy in the present life. 
This is the only deception that gives force to temptation. The 
language of her who allures is, ' Stolen waters are sweet, and 
bread eaten in secret is pleasant ; ' but did the tempted know, 
' that the dead are there, and that her guests are in the depths 
of hell,' he would resist the charm, and parry the dart aimed at 
his life. The history of centuries proves, beyond controversy, 
that the unknown terrors of an unknown hell, in an unknown 
world, have never secured man from the allurements of sin, nor 



A. D. 1828. 



215 



inclined Iiim to the love of holiness. In your persuasions to 
virtue, and in your dissuasions from vice, respect the sacred 
word, and confine yourself to known realities; showing, that 
while the one flows with the milk and honey of peace and joy, 
the other yields the wormwood and the gall of vexation and woe. 
And to add weight, and to give effect to your arguments and 
precepts, stand forth yourself an example worthy of applause 
and imitation. 

" To such as are afflicted and to those who mourn, give 
largely of yOur sympathies, and refuse not to taste the cup of 
your people's sorrow ; nor yet forget to administer the consola- 
tions of the gospel, which make even the dying victors through 
him who loved us and gave himself for us. 

"That all the duties of your office maybe seasonably and 
properly discharged, it is indispensable, dear brother, that the 
whole cause and work, with which you are now charged, should 
engross the affections and love of your heart. Love to God, 
love to the Saviour's name, love to divine tmth and all the vir- 
tues which adorn it, and love to mankind, will enable you to 
fight a good fight, to keep the faith, and to finish your course 
with triumphant joy." 

How far I may have succeeded to conform the matter 
and manner of my ministry, and the conduct of my life, to 
the wise injunctions of this able Charge of the venerable 
man of God, many thousands and tens of thousands of 
the Christian public have had opportunities for forming an 
opinion. . In my conscious weakness I have looked to God 
for aid ; and have endeavored to promote the welfare of 
mankind. The Lord forgive my errors, and bless me 
abundantly with the breathings of his spirit in my further 
efforts to do what work remains for me to perform on 
earth. 

August, 1828. — I spent nearly all of this month on a 
journey to Maine, and a route through Waterville, where 
I spent some time at settling up old affairs ; and via Syd- 
ney, Keadfield, Livermore, Turner, preaching by the way ; 



216 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



Peru, Rumford, Norway, — visiting relatives, and preach- 
ing also, as it was my wont to do. 

THE ROCKINGHAM ASSOCIATION. 

On my way home I came to Kingston, N. PL, just in 
time to be present at the Rockingham Association, which 
was organized mostly by Boston ministers as a missionary 
instrumentality, Aug. 25, 1824. This was to me an 
unexpected entertainment. Sermons were preached by 
Brs. H. Ballon, 2d, S. Cobb, T. Whittemore, J. Wood, 
and H. Ballou. Mrs. Cobb accompanied me on this tour. 

During the remainder of this eventful j^ear, I was occu- 
pied with the regular duties of my ministerial office, in 
their diversified .bearings heretofore described. I will 
barel}^ note, as I pass, that my Thanksgiving Sermon, 
Nov. 27th, was, by general request, committed to print in 
pamphlet form.- The text was Gal. v. 1 : " Stand fast, 
therefore, in the liberty wherewith Christ hatli made us free, 
and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage." 

A. D. 1829. 

AND YET ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 

January \lth, 1829. — Our fourth child, and third son, 
was born unto us to-day. All well. On Jidy 12th (Sun- 
dsLj), we publicly dedicated this infant son by the name 
Ebenezer. 

INTRODUCTORY AT AMOSKEAG, N. H. 

February, 1829, — First Sunday. -^I delivered three 
discourses in a new hall in Amoskeag, provided by the 



A. D. 1829. 



217 



Amoskeag manufacturing Company as a Chapel for relig- 
ious worship. This was the first occupancy of the Chapel 
by a Universalist clerg3^man ; and it was procured by the 
agenc}^ of Dr. Oliver Dean,* who was the Agent of the 
Manufacturing Corporation. The meetings were supported 
by subscriptions from the Overseers and Operatives gen- 
erally, each subscriber designating the denomination to 
which his or her subscription should be appropriated. I 
preached there again the next September, and had the 
happiness to learn that the interest in our cause w^as stead- 
ily increasing. And the same favorable reports cheered 
me, as I took my turns with others of our ministering 
brethren subsequently, in the occupancy of this Chapel. 

In a few years the Amoskeag Co. erected a magnificent 
row of factories on the bank of the river (Merrimac), a 
mile and a half below the Falls, carrying down the water 
power by a canal from the Falls ; and another Corpora- 
tion, the Starh^ built its factories on a contiguous site. 
The business of these Corporations built a populous city 
(Manchester), in which the Universalist interest which 
originated in Amoskeag village forthwith organized a 
large society, and erected a commodious Church. A Sec- 
ond Universalist society was formed in Manchester in 
1859 ; and both are in a flourishing condition, and in an 
ample field for gospel work. 

THE ADDRESS AT SALEM. 

MarcJi, 25th. — Eev. Lemuel Willis was installed over 
the Universalist Society in Salem, Mass. Rev. Thomas 

* This Dr. Oliver Dean, whose manly and honorable improvement of his 
opportunities as Agent of the Amoskeag Manufacturing Company, was the 
means of putting in motion the spiritual forces which have wrought such 
important results in Manchester, N. H., is the founder of the Dean Academy 
in Franklin, Mass. 

19 



218 



REV. STLVAXUS COBB^ D.D. 



Jones, of Gloucester, preached the Sermon ; and it devolved 
upon me to read the Scriptures, and deliver the Address to 
the Society. 

THE BOSTON ASSOCIATION : AND BR. L. S. 
EVERETT'S INSTALLATION. 

June Uh^ 1829. — I assisted in the organization of Tlie 
Boston Association^ in the Universalist Church in Charles- 
town ; and, in the evening, took part in the services of the 
Installation of Rev. Linus S. Everett, over the Universalist ^- 
Society in the same place. 

THE DEDICATION OF CHILDREN. 
My Diary has the following entry in its order of time : — 

June, First Sunday (1829). — To-day, at the commencement 
of the afternoon services in om' Maiden Church, we publicly 
dedicated our second son, Samuel Tucker, and Eunice Wait 
Putnam, my departed sister's child whom we had taken into our 
family, to our God and Father in heaven. Circumstances were 
such that it was not convenient to carry Samuel Tucker into 
meeting when he was an infant in Waterville, Me,, nor since 
until this time. Br. Henry Crehore and wife also brought for- 
ward their children, and had them publicly dedicated to God at 
the same time ; viz., Henry, Susan, Joseph, and Julia Augusta." 

The residue of this month I spent on a journey to 
Maine, with my private carriage, Sylvanus, Jr., in com- 
pany ; and visiting relatives, and preaching in many towns 
which had shared of my labors in former j-ears. 



A. D. 1829. 



219 



THE MAINE CONVENTION. 

I took the Maine Convention^ formerly the Eastern Asso- 
ciation^ on my route, which met m Readfield on the 24th 
and 25th. The meeting was largely attended by ministers 
and laymen ; and sermons were preached by Brs. S. Cobb, 
R. Streeter, Samuel Brimblecom, S. Stetson and J. Wood. 
I knew Rev. Samuel Brimblecom as the Pastor of the Uni- 
tarian Chui'ch in Norridgewock, when I was in Waterville. 
Now he had entered into the full light and love of our 
faith ; and, after an affecting address to the Council, he 
offered himself for our denominational Fellowship, and was 
cordially received. 

THE GENERAL CONVENTION OF UNIVERSAL- 

ISTS. 

This bod}^ met in Winchester, N. H., September 16t7i and 
17th, which I attended. Sermons were preached by Brs. 
A. Ballon, S. Streeter, P. Dean, M. Rayner, S. Cobb, H. 
Ballon, and E. Case. It was an interesting occasion. 

DEDICATION AT SANDY BAY. 

October 8t7i. — The new Universalist Meeting House at 
Sandy Bay, now Rockport, was dedicated. By invitation 
of the Committee I delivered a discourse in the afternoon. 
Father Jones, of Gloucester, preached the Sermon of Ded- 
ication in the forenoon. 

November. — This month I published, in pamphlet form, 
A Review of Dr. Dwighfs Tract on Future Punishment. 



220 



REV. SYLVANUS COBJB, D.D. 



CLOSE OF THE YEAR. 

The following is the manner in which my Journal closes 
its records of the year 1829 : — 

Decemher 31st. — Another year passes away w^th this day. 
Many blessings have flowed upon us during the year which is 
now closing. Our family has been favored with almost uninter- 
ru23ted health ; the smile of Heaven has constantly shone upon 
us; and our enjoyments have been great. The most perfect 
harmony has continued to subsist between the members of the 
society; and between them and me. Our seasons of worship 
have been happy seasons ; the members of the society seem to 
be generally sincere lovers of the gospel ; and important addi- 
tions have been made to our congregation." 

A. D. 1830. 

Though this year, as the former years of my ministerial 
life, was full of labor, it was generally so much in the 
usual routine, at home and abroad, that there was but little 
of it that would be interesting as matter of particular 
notice. I will barely make note of my presence and 
humble services on special public occasions. 

INSTALLATION OF EEV. J. P. ATKINSON, AT 
HINGHAM. 

April 29th. — Rev. J. P. Atkinson was installed over 
the Universalist Society in Hingham. Rev. T. Whittemore 
preached the Sermon ; Rev. Hosea Ballou delivered the 
Charge ; Rev. H. Ballou, 2d, the Installation Prayer ; Rev. 
L. S. Everett the Right Hand of Fellowship ; and it de- 
volved upon me to deliver the Address or Charge to the 
Society. 



A. D. 1830. 



221 



INSTALLATION OF REV. WM. S. BALCH. 
May 5th. — I attended the Installation of Rev. Wm, S, 

Balch over the TJniversalist Society of Newton and Water- 
town^ and offered the Introductory prayer. 

BOSTON ASSOCIATION. 

This body met in the first Universalist Church in Boston, 
June 2d. Sermons were preached by Brs. Wm. Morse, S. 
Cobb, and T. F. King. 

THE MAINE CONVENTION. 

June SOth. — This was the first day of the session of the 
Maine Convention of Universalists in Norway. As it was 
known that I was under the necessity of leaving for home 
this day at noon, it was assigned for me to preach this 
forenoon. As usual on these occasions in Maine, the meet- 
ing was large. 

It was affecting to receive the hearty greetings of my famil- 
iar friends and former associates meeting from various parts 
of my native State, accompanying the warm grip of the 
hand with the exclamation, — " When will you come home 
again to your old friends, and to the land of your nativ- 
ity? " And to separate from them at noon on the first day 
of the session was trying to my feelings. But I had spent 
the time I had to spare for this route, in visiting round 
about before the meeting of the Convention. 

ROCKINGHAM ASSOCIATION. 

August 25th and 26th. — This Association was in session 
at Atkinson, N. H. Sermons were preached, by Brs. L. 
Willis, S. Cobb, T. F. King, T. Whittemore, and S. 
Streeter. 

19* 



222 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



OLD COLONY ASSOCIATION. 

At the meeting of this Association in Hanson, Mass., 
September 1st, sermons were preached byBrs. T. F.King, 
M. Rayner, and S. Cobb. 

THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 

The General Convention of Universalists of the New 
England States and others, held an annual session in Leb- 
anon, N. H., September 15th and 16th. The preaching on 
this occasion was byBrs. T. F. King, S. Cobb, T. Whitte- 
more, S. Streeter, and Hosea Ballon. Mrs. Cobb accom- 
panied me to this meeting. 

CONFERENCE WITH DR. EMMONS. 

Monday^ December 27th. — Having preached in Frank- 
lin, Mass., on the preceding day (Sunday), I tarried over 
to-day, that 1 might discharge an obligation to the venera- 
ble Dr. Emmons, which he, in pleasantry at least, imputed 
to me. He had said to m}^ friend, Maj. Mann, " You must 
call on me with your minister when he visits you again. 
He has been in town many times, preaching within the 
limits of my parish, and I feel slighted by his neglect to 
call upon me. Ministerial etiquette requires that, when a 
young minister comes preaching in a town where an old one 
is settled, the new comer shall call upon the old settler. 
Don't fail to introduce your minister on his next visit 
here." 

Maj. Mann was an elder brother of Hon. Horace Mann ; 
and he was the agent of the Franklin City Factor}^ My 
first ministerial visit to that place, preaching in the 



A. D. 1830. 



223 



"Franklin City School house," was procured by Maj. 
Mann on his own responsibility. And, though he had 
forthwith the co-operation of faithful and energetic asso- 
ciates, he was in the lead, and his house was my home in 
that town. It was natural, therefore, that the doctor should, 
in address to the Major, denominate me his minister. 

With regard to the personality of the other party, he 
was the world renowned Nathaniel Emmons, D.D., an 
Orthodox divine of great celebrity ; one of their standard 
authors ; rather Hopkinsian than Calvinistic ; bold and 
unreserved in the statement of his strong points ; and, as 
men of his calibre frequently are, with their peers, some- 
what facetious. He was popular as a teacher of teachers, 
insomuch that The New American Cyclopaedia says, " He 
guided the studies of some 87 theological students." He 
was now 86 years of age. 

Well, on the Monday morning aforesaid, my friend in- 
troduced me into the studio of Dr. Emmons, and the pres- 
ence of its presiding genius. The doctor, though so far 
advanced in age, was in good health, and of brilliant mind. 
He was free and communicative ; and after repeating his 
conversation with Maj. Mann with regard to my obligation 
to give him a call, he put me immediately upon the work 
of explaining and vindicating as accordant with the Scrip- 
tures, my theological system. Of course he soon presented 
me with Matt. xxv. 46 : " And these shall go away into 
everlasting punishment ; but the righteous into life eternal." 
I took him with me into a careful and critical reading of 
our Lord's discourse from the beginning, of which he had 
given me the concluding words. He went along with me, 
as friends walk arm in arm, giving his undivided attention. 
When we had reached thus the end of Chap, xxiv., he ad- 
mitted that the judgment, and the attendant tribulations, 



224 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Tvliicn were the subject of that Chapter, involved the national 
destruction of the Jews, which was to take place, and did 
take place, before that generation passed away. I then 
called his attention to the fact, that Mark (Chap, xiii) . , and 
Luke (Chap, xxi.), recording what they deemed most im- 
portant of that discourse of theu' Lord, have made record 
of only the portion of it which our translators have, b}^ their 
division of it in Matthew's record, parted off into Chap, 
xxiv. ; and that Matthew connects with this, what follows 
in his record (Chap, xxv.), by the adverb then; — then 
shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins," 
&c. ; showing that the three parables which he records 
while the other Evangelists omit them, are but additional 
and figurative illustrations of the same events, of the same 
time, treated in Chap. xxiv. I also showed him that this 
view of the unity of subject in these two chapters is con- 
firmed by the constant reference which is made in the latter 
to the former, by repetition of its language in description 
of the coming of the Son of Man in his glory. 

I then put to the Doctor this question : — When a faith- 
ful reporter undertakes to publish a report of a speech of 
his revered teacher, if, for convenience, he curtails or 
abridges it, will he not be particular to publish in full such 
portions of the speech as he deems most important for the 
public, and for posterity? Does not the fact, therefore, 
that Mark and Luke omitted to report the three parables 
comprised in Matt, xxv., conclusively show that they did 
not understand those parables to introduce a new and dis- 
tinct subject, and one infinitely more important to be 
handed down to all subsequent ages ? 

Dr. Emmons instantly replied, "I see the point. The 
argument is plausible." And then he facetiously added, — 

But I don't believe it ; and I don't believe you do." That 



A. D. 1S30. 



225 



great scholar and divine saw the force of the circumstances 
presented, and felt it. And his instantaneous impulse 
came to his relief with a jocular dismissal of the subject. 

Then it came to be my turn to ask questions. And in 
his answers, he was more frank and ingenuous than instruc- 
tive. He made no effort to dodge difficulties, or to relieve 
himself of embarrassments by amalgamations of Armin- 
ianism and Augustinianism. Indeed, he could not be embar- 
rassed. When I presented him a glaring absurdity in his 
theological doctrines, and the irreconcilable disharmony 
between their different parts, with all frankness and uncon- 
cern, without hesitation or prevarication, he would respond, 
" Jsee it^ I see it. I know there is a difficulty there. All 
theories have their difficulties. But I believe this notwith- 
standing." 

We occupied a considerable part of the day in our con- 
versation, dining together at his table. And it was, to me, 
upon the whole, a pleasant conference. 

I will note one circumstance here, for the benefit of my 
ministering brethren, in relation to the Doctor's Study. It 
was his Sitting Room. He said he had, by this arrange- 
ment, improved a great many hours in most profitable work 
as a sermonizer and author, which would have been lost if 
his study were away by itself in an upper room. Often 
he came into the house from parochial calls or out-door 
choring, a fraction of an hour before dinner or supper, or 
an hour or two before bedtime ; and he would sit down 
directly to his literary labor, losing not a minute ; when, 
if he were required to go off to an upper room to his v^ork, 
especially in the considerable portion of the year when the 
study would need warming, nothing would have been 
done. 



226 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



The Doctor's theory in this economy has ever been my 
own. I have had a separate room to which I could retire 
when I pleased. But, usually, the family Sitting Room 
has been my principal Library Room and Study. When 
ladies have been in enjoying a social chat with the female 
members of my family, and I was at my wi'iting, — and 
they have expressed the fear that they were disturbing 
me, — I have replied, that I could think and write as much 
more vigorously for their presence and conversation, the 
conversation not particularly concerning me, as a soldier 
can march better for good music. 

A. D. 1831. 

This year too, as the preceding, w^as one of general 
quiet, and prosperit}^, and happiness, in my home Paro- 
chial relations, and of vigilant attention to the legitimate 
duties of those relations. Posterity will understand my 
labors of the year in general, from the nature of my official 
position, without record, as well as they could from de- 
tailed reports. A few incidents, however, and special 
services abroad, I will note as I pass. 

CHURCH RECOGNITION IN MARLBORO'. 

February 23cL — I took part in the services of Recognition 
of a Universalist Church in Marlboro', Mass., which had 
just been organized bj^Rev. T. J. Greenwood, Pastor. To 
me was assigned the deliverj^ of the discourse on the occa- 
sion ; and then, after an Address to the Church by Rev. R. 
Streeter, and the Baptism of several of the members b^^ 
the Pastor (in the form of sprinkling), the administration 



A. D. 1831. 



227 



of the ordinance of the Lord's Supper. (For notice of my 
subsequent labors in Marlboro', see page — *) 

ANOTHER ADDITION TO THE HOUSEHOLD. 

March dlst. — This morning my wife presented unto me 
a fifth child, and fourth son. When he was two weeks 
old, Capt. George Winslow, a valuable member of my 
Society, having obtained our consent, conferred upon him 
his own name, — all but the Captain. And by this name 
we pfblicly Dedicated him to the great Father, as a member 
of the mystical body of Christ, Sunday^ July ^Ist. 

OUR TEMPERANCE MOVEMENT. 

April ItJi. Fast-Day. — I delivered to my congregation 
a discourse on Temperance, taking a strong position for 
the total disuse of all intoxicating liquors as a beverage. I 
expected that I should give offence to some, as numbers 
of my parishioners were " moderate drinkers," and a few 
were more than that ; and none of them had attached 
themselves to the Temperance Society which had been 
organized in the town. But the lesson was well received, 
and effective in its operation. I forthwith borrowed the 
Constitution of the Maiden Temperance Society, and called 
with it on all the heads of families in my Parish, and 
obtained the signatures of nearly all of them to the Pledge. 
I encountered the objection from many, on the first pre- 
sentation of the subject, that this Temperance Society was 
an Orthodox movement ; and in proof of this I was re- 

* This notice the Autobiographer did not live to write ; but the reader will 
find an account of the labors referred to in Chapter XVII. of the Memoir. 

Thk Memoirist. 



228 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



ferred to the fact that most of the members were Orthodox 
people, and had all the management of its affairs among 
themselves. To be sure, I replied, and it must be so as 
long as we keep ourselves awa}^ I showed my friends 
that there was nothing in the Constitution of the Society 
to prevent our all becoming members, and in such numbers 
as to exert, ourselves, a controlling influence in the Soci- 
ety. And we did so. And the Universalist Society in 
Maiden has ever since occupied a prominent position and 
exerted an effective influence in the temperance cause. 

FATHER RAYNER'S PROJECT. 

April 25th. — I received a letter from Rev. Menzies 
Rayner, of Hartford, Ct., through Rev. Linus S.Everett as 
his intercessor, proposing that I should remove my abode to 
Hartford, preach one half of the time in that city, and the 
other half out (he doing the same), and take one half of 
the interest in his paper, " The Religious Inquirer.''^ Father 
Rayner had of course conferred with his Parish Committee 
on this arrangement. It will be remembered that the 
Committee of that society were in correspondence with me 
in relation to my holding myself subject to a candidacy for 
settlement with them, at the time when Father Rayner 
came among them, over from the Episcopal communion. 
Now it was proposed that their two contemplated cotempo- 
rary Candidates should become Associate Pastors. 

This was the proffer of an inviting position ; but I 
returned at once a negative answer. So pleasant and so 
settled had become my situation in Maiden, and so diversi- 
fied were the opportunities for useful labor round about, 
that I could not even debate the question of removing at 
that time. 



A. D. 1831. 



229 



BOSTON ASSOCIATION. 

June \st, — The Boston Association of Universalists 
met in the School Street Church in Boston. Agreeably to 
appointment of the preceding j^ear, it devolved upon me to 
preach the Occasional^ Sermon." My text was 1 Tim. 
iv. 16 : " Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrines ; 
continue in them : for in doing this thou shalt both save 
thyself, and them that hear thee." The Council having, in 
accordance with its custom, voted a request for the publi- 
cation of the Sermon, this was published in the Trumpet 
and Universalist Magazine of July 2d, 1831. 

July Fourth. -—Vub\\Q Independence-Day exercises were 
held in the Brick Church ; and, by the Committee of 
Arrangements it devolved upon the reader's humble ser- 
vant to deliver the Oration. I treated the History of Lib- 
erty, and the means of its preservation, and of the diffusion 
of its principles and blessings into all the departments and 
ramifications of society. Near the conclusion I pleasantly 
gave the subject such a turn that its application to the 
relations of contending parties in our own town was vis- 
ible. The effect was a happy one. All the religious 
denominations united in this celebration ; and the influence 
of the exercises and the occasion completed the extermina- 
tion of animosity and contention, and inaugurated an era 
of general good feeling. 

ROCKINGHAM ASSOCIATION ; AND ORDINATION 
OF REV. OILMAN NOTES. 

Wednesday and Thursday^ August 31s^, and Sept. Isf, the 
Rockingham Association of Universalists held a session in 
New Market, N. H. On Thursday, Br. Oilman Noyes, 
20 



230 



ItEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



one of my theological students, received Ordination. Ser- 
mons were preached on the occasion, Brs. T. F. King, 
L. R. Paige, T. Whittemore, John Moore, S. Cobb (the 
Ordination Sermon), H. Ballon, Elias Smith, and Walter 
Balfour. 

KENNEBEC ASSOCIATION. 

September — Was principally appropriated to my annual 
Maine visitation, which most needs be made also a mission- 
ary tour over much of the State. On the 21st I turned in at 
Wilton, where the Kennebec Association was in session, 
for that and the succeeding day. I must of course preach 
one sermon ; and that service came off on the afternoon of 
Thursday, the 22d. 

December ^Ist. — My Journal closes its record of the 
year in this happy strain : — 

*' This day brings us to the close of another year. Our fam- 
ily have shared of the protecting care, and the constant blessings 
of Heaven, as in former years. We have had the addition of 
one, making the number of our children five. My relation with 
my Parish continues to be one of mutual satisfaction, and undis- 
turbed harmony and peace. The average congregation has 
increased ; there seems to be an increase of interest and atten- 
tion. I am at peace with the whole world so far as personahty 
is concerned ; my only warfare being against error and vice, and 
against spiritual wickedness in high places. This warfare goes 
on " conquering and to conquer." " The Lord reigneth ; let the 
earth rejoice." 

A. D. 1832. 

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 

May^ Second Sunday. — At the close of the morning ser- 
vice, I requested those who felt an interest in the establish- 
ment of a Sunday School, to tany after the Benediction, 



A. D. 1832. 



231 



and adopt measures for the organization of such a school. 
A goodly number tarried, discussed the subject in the right 
spirit, and appointed a Board of Directors for putting for- 
ward the business. We held these preliminary meetings 
often by adjournment, and shortly the school was put into 
operation, and forthwith became an interesting institution. 
This was among the first Sunday Schools formed in the 
Universalist denomination. 

The whole Sunday School system, as a religious educa- 
tional instrumentality, was comparatively new. And our 
people had, for a while, some prejudice against it, as a 
scheme by which the Orthodox were seeking to bring the 
3'Oung, generall}'', under their sectarian influence. I met 
with this objection from some of the heads of families in my 
society, on my private calls and labors preparatory to the 
public movement just noted. But I found it not difficult to 
aid all their understandings to a discernment of the 
fact, that the field was just as open, and the instrumen- 
tality for the religious education of the young just as 
available to us, as to other denominations ; and that the 
circumstance that others were improving this important 
means of good, constituted no reason why we should neg- 
lect to do so. 

DISCUSSION WITH DH. BUCK. 

On the third Sunday in this month, Mat, Dr. Ephraim 
Buck, the oldest physician in Maiden, and the leader of the 
Trinitarian party in our Parish contests, delivered in my 
Church, at 5^ o'clock p. m., his part of a soft of Theological 
Discussion between him and me. It was his Reply to m}^ 
Review of Dr. Dwight's Tract on Future Punishment here- 
tofore noticed, which I addressed to Dr. Buck, because I 



232 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



received the Tract at his hand, with his compliments. He 
had appointed to deliver his Reply in his own place of meet- 
ing, the School House Hall. But as that was not large 
enough to accommodate all who would probably want to 
hear the whole discussion, I invited him to deliver it in the 
First Parish Church ; and he accepted my invitation. 

I answered the Doctor at 5^- o'clock p. m. on the First 
Sunday in June. The house was densely crowded, and I oc- 
cupied an hour and thirty-five minutes. He made the basis 
of his argument, as did Dr. Dwight of his Tract, the 25th 
Chapter of St. Matthew. Of course my labor, except in the 
exposure of my opponent's mistakes and sophistries, was 
devoted to the explanation of that Chapter. I earnestl}^ 
requested the Doctor to commit to me his manuscript for 
publication with my Rejoinder ; but he declined to do so. 
I, however, published my Rejoinder in the Trumpet and 
Universalist Magazine of June 30, and July 7, 1832, and 
had a large number of copies worked off in pamphlet form. 
But my exposition of that Chapter may be found, not only 
in my Commentary on the New Testament, but in my Re- 
view of Dr. Edw. Beecher's Conflict of Ages, and in my 
Discussion with Dr. Nehemiah Adams. 

My labors altogether, this day, were as enormous in 
bulk, as any one Sunday's labors which I performed in the 
State of Maine. I delivered two discourses of ordinary 
length in Woburn, at the regular morning and afternoon 
meetings, on exchange with Rev, D. D. Smith ; then, as I 
have said, spoke an hour and thirtj^-five minutes in Re- 
sponse to Dr. Buck, commencing at 5^ o'clock p. m. ; and 
then rode to Reading, and preached another hour by 
candle-light, by particular request, on the question, What 
IS IT TO BE A Universalist ? " But God gave me strength 
equal to the labors of the day. 



A. D. 1832. 



233 



DEDICATION AND INSTALLATION IN TAUN- 
TON. 

The Uniyersalist Society in Taunton, Mass., had pur- 
ehased, moved, and fitted up, a large Meeting House which 
had been vacated by the Unitarian Societ}^ ; and, — 

June 21 til ^ — They Dedicated the house, and Installed 
Rev. John B. Dods as their Pastor. It fell to my lot to 
preach the Dedication Sermon, in the forenoon ; and Eev. 
Hosea Ballou delivered the Sermon of Installation, in the 
afternoon. 

FATHER BALLOU'S VIEW OF WRITING SER- 
MONS. 

During the intermission, in the room which we occupied 
at the time by ourselves, Father Ballou, walking in the 
mood of intense study, remarked to me, that the longer he 
lived, the more he came to be in favor of j^oung preachers 
writing their sermons in full. This he had not done. And 
now that he was becoming advanced in years, and his 
memory was failing him, he found that he had lost, beyond 
recovery, some of his best thoughts and happiest illustra- 
tions. He could not reproduce the work of his life's prime, 
except what had been committed to print. And often, 
when mentally preparing his sermon for the public, he suf- 
fered anxiety lest his memor}" should fail to take hold of 
some of his most important illustrations at the appropriate 
place. Sometimes he had passed the place where he had 
designed to introduce an illustration on which he hung the 
chief interest of his discourse ; and there was no other 
place for it, and he was dissatisfied with his performance. 
He believed that young preachers should cultivate the 
20* 



234 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



habit of delivering discourses without manuscript, when 
they could do so ; and that they should discipline themselves 
to a free and natural manner of deliA^er}^, whether with or 
without the manuscript before them ; but he would advise 
them, as far as it was practicable, to ivrite their sermons in 
full. 

INSTALLATION OF EEV. L. E,. PAIGE. 

July, Second Sunday. — After my two regular discourses 
at home, I attended, at 5 o'clock p. m., the services of In- 
stallation of Rev. L. E.. Paige, over the Universalist Soci- 
ety in Cambridgeport, and preached the sermon on that 
occasion. 

DEDICATION AT MEDFORD. 

July ISth. — The new Universalist Society in Medford 
Dedicated their new Meeting House to its appropriate use 
as a temple of divine worship. It was assigned to me to 
preach the Dedicator}^ Sermon. 

This society was an offspring of our regenerated Parish 
in Maiden. Several Medford families attached themselves 
to our meeting after my settlement there ; and I gave them 
occasional lectures' in their Village. The erection of this 
Society took these families from our meeting ; — but it 
served the greater good. 

THE GENERAL CONVENTION. 

September 19th and 20th. — The old "General Conven- 
tion of Universalists for the New England States and 
others," was in session at Concord, N. H. Forty minister- 
ing brethren were present. The public services were held 
in the Baptist Church. All the other Churches in the City 



J. D. 1833. 



235 



were likewise offered for our accommodation. Sermons 
were preached by Brs. S. Cobb, S. Streeter, M. Eayner, T. 
Jones, H. Ballon, and C. M. LeFevre. An advance was 
made towards the transformation of this Convention into a 
United States Convention^ to be composed of Delegates from 
the State Conventions. The great growth of our cause and 
denomination in the United States demanded this improve- 
ment. 

ANOTHER NEWCOMER. 

December 1st. — Our second daughter, which is our sixth 
child, was born this CA^ening ; whom we named, Sarah 
"Wait ; and in which name she was publicly Dedicated on 
the Fourth Sunday of the next June. 

A. D. 1833. 

In February, I published in Pamphlet form my Reply to 
a Dissertation on Future Punishment by Oliver Johnson, 
Editor of the Christian Soldier, — which Reply I delivered 
in the Town Hall in Lynn on the evening of the Second 
Sunday in January, he having delivered his Dissertation 
also in that Hall. 

Without multiplying notes of particulars, which were 
generally in the regular routine of ministerial, citizen, and 
literary duties, including due attention to Associational 
meetings, and the missionary labors which I referred to in 
my general exhibit of Extra Services, under the head of 
" That Lecturing Business" pp. 201-208, suffice it to 
remark in general of this year, — That it was a year of 
general health and undeviating peace and happiness at 
home, and of beautiful harmony and pleasing prosperity in 
our religious Society. It may be expedient, however, to 



236 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



make record of one speciality; that is, my consent to be 
put in nomination as a candidate for election as the town's 
Kepresentative to the General Court. 

Sometime in October, the Chairman of the Parish Com- 
mittee called upon me, and, after the greeting and the 
seating, said to me, " I want to ask you a question." "Very 
well," I answered, "say on." He asked, "Are you a Jack- 
son man?" "No," said I, "not in the technical sense." 
" Well," he continued, " I thought so. Some of us were 
speaking of it the other evening, and it was said by one of 
the company that you were a Jackson man. But I thought 
not." "Well," I rejoined, "if this is a matter of discus- 
sion, let me not be misunderstood. In the days of the 
Federal and the Republican parties, I was a Republican. 
But at the close of the Madisouian war, and during the 
eight years of the Monroe administration, the parties were 
merged, and visible party lines were practically obliterated. 
We were all Federal Republicans. But when, in the suc- 
ceeding Presidential canvass, a contest arose, and Andrew 
Jackson and J. Q. Adams were opposing candidates, while 
I highly esteemed Jackson as a patriot and military com- 
mander, I preferred Adams as a Statesman, and gave him 
my vote. This explains what I mean by saying I am not a 
Jackson man. But I will do Gen. Jackson the justice to 
say, that he far exceeded my expectations as a statesman 
and the Chief Magistrate of the nation." 

" But what," I inquired, " does your questioning mean ?" 
"Oh," he replied, "we think of sending you to the General 
Court next winter, as our Representative." " Not if I am 
to be put up on political party ground," I rejoined emphat- 
ically. " No," he continued, " nothing of that. We want 
you to go on business principles. We want a new bridge 
across the Mystic, to Charlestown, to be self-paying, and 



A. D. 1834. 



237 



ultimately free. And we want your influence in the Legis- 
lature to aid us in the enterprise." I assured him that, 
notwithstanding the worthy motives of my friends, I would 
not consent to be a candidate for that office if it might 
unfavorably affect the feelings of any of my Parishioners. 
He assured me in return, that there would be no division 
there ; that all our members wished my election. " Then," 
said I, "go and act your own judgment of right and expe- 
diency, as my friend, and a friend of all the other interests 
concerned in the question." 

I was put in nomination, and, on November 11th, the 
State Election Day, was elected by nearly a unanimous 
vote to the aforesaid office. 

A. D. 1834. 

JANUARY, FEBRUARY, MARCH. 

During these three months, my chief week-day business 
was that involved in my official position as a member of 
the Legislature. My first personal concern was that for 
which, in particular, I was elected, the procurement of a 
charter for a new bridge. I was successful. A charter 
was obtained for the bridge (Middlesex Bridge), to be 
completed within three years, establishing given rates of 
toll, all over the payment of current expenses to be funded 
until the amount should be sufficient to pay the cost of the 
structure, and then it should become a free bridge. 

Another subject to which I gave some earnest attention 
in its place, was the proposed legislation against Free 
Masonry. It was the climax of the famous Anti-Masonic 
excitement. The Speaker's Table groaned beneath the 
burden of petitions praying for an Act to abolish Free 



I 



238 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Masonry, and to render Masonic Oaths unlawful. A large 
Special Committee was appointed as the reference for these 
petitions. But that Committee was practically superseded, 
and the work taken out of their hands, imd political Anti- 
Masonry killed out, in the following manner : An order 
was introduced, directing the Committee on the Judiciary 
to consider the expediency of passing a general law against 
" Extra-judicial Oaths," and to report a bill. That Com- 
mittee reported a bill, prohibitive of Extra Judicial Oaths. 
They said their design was to put a stop to the multipljdng 
sea-serpent oaths, and other practices of running to a 
Justice of the Peace and making formal oath to the truth 
of this and that "cock and bull story," — all which was cal- 
culated to depreciate the solemnity of an oath. Masonry 
was not named in the bill. Yet it was evident that, if this 
should pass, the political Anti-Masons could do nothing- 
more ; for if the Masonic oath should be judged by the 
Courts a nuisance, coming within the legitimate province 
of law to suppress, this would suppress it. 

An Anti-Mason moved to amend the bill, by inserting 
before the words extra-judicial, Ifasonic and other ; making 
it to prohibit " all masonic and other extra-judicial oaths." 
This amendment was carried. Then a Mason moved to 
further amend, by inserting anti-masonic before the word 
masonic; so thatit should read, "all anti-masonic, masonic, 
and other extra-judicial oaths." And this was adopted. 
The design was to encumber the bill with frivolities, and 
crush it out. 

At this point I deemed it my duty to come to the rescue. 
Having obtained the decision of the Speaker that such a 
motion w^ould be in order, I moved to amend by striking 
out all the party amendments, and restoring the bill to its 
original form. Addressing the Chair of course, I designed 



A. n. 1834. 



239 



my argument for the Masons, and others who desired to 
get rid of the political Anti-Masonic nuisance. I explained 
that I was a Mason, and knew that the principles of Ma- 
sonry were good, and that the influence of the institution 
had been extensively productive of good. But I was will- 
ing to risk the institution under the operation of such a 
law as was now proposed. Thongh such law might sup- 
press the public exhibitions of a class of dandy jack oaths 
which might be regarded as public nuisances, it would not 
probably touch the quiet exercise, in retirement, of any 
natural and inalienable right. Let the bill be restored to 
its original simplicity, as it came from the hands of the 
Committee, and be enacted into a law ; and Constitutional 
right will be preserved ; and the political Anti-Masonic 
agitation, by which men who have not substantial merits on 
which to rise, calculate to continue raising a whirlwind to 
bear them into office, will die out. 

My amendment was carried by a vote of 242 to 96. 
Then the bill as amended was passed, by 437 yeas to 37 
nays. 

The leading Anti-Masons in the House saw that their 
game was played out, and raved against their minor asso- 
ciates for their want of sagacity and pluck. That was the 
end of political Anti-Masonry in Massachusetts. 

With regard to the law against extra-judicial oaths, I 
know not whether any case of sea-serpent swearing has 
been arraigned under it ; but it has never interfered with 
the peaceful operation of the ancient and honorable insti- 
tution of Masonrj^ I presume no case has been brought 
before the Supreme Court to call out a regular judicial 
decision on the law ; but the most eminent Jurists have, on 
inquiries proposed, expressed the opinion that the Legisla- 
ture has no Constitutional power to prohibit individuals 



240 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB^ D.D. 



from binding themselves, in retirement, to solemn obliga- 
tions to each other, in the manner of an oath. 

I was busil}^ attentive to the business of the Legislature 
in general ; but no other subject engaged m}^ particular 
attention, in a manner to render it an appropriate matter 
of record here. 

THE TWIN SONS. 

August 6th. — This evening we were presented with two 
fine, healthy sous. All well. "We named our twin sons 
Cykus, and Darius ; and in these names they were publicly 
Dedicated on the First Siniday in Feb., 1835. 

INSTALLATION OF REV. WM. H. KNAPP. 

This Brother was installed over the First Universalist 
Society in Danvers, December 25th. It devolved upon 
me to offer the Installing Praj' er, and to deliver a discourse 
in the evening. 

In addition to my regular Parochial duties ; and the cus- 
tomary attention to Associational occasions ; and the con- 
tinued lecturing and evangelizing which I noted in the 
gross on pp. 201-208, my care, from year to year, imposed 
upon me no little responsibility, sometimes as President of 
the Maiden Lj-ceum, which I was active in originating, and 
generall}^ as Chairman of the Superintending School Com- 
mittee. But labor has ever been my life. 

A. D. 1835. 

This winter I have done more extra service than usual 
in the form of lectures before Benevolent, Literary and 
Musical Societies. 



A. n. 1835. 



241 



PIONEER SERVICE IN BEVERLY, MASS. 
April 1st. — I preached a lecture in Beverly Town Souse, 
— the first Universalist discourse delivered in that ancient 
town. There was a crowded audience ; and the interest in 
the faith increased, unto the organization of a permanent 
society. 

INSTALLATION OF BROS. NOTES AND AUSTIN. 

April 8iJi and 9t7i. — The Union Association of Univer- 
salists was in session in Spencer, Mass. On the 9th Br. 
Oilman Noyes, one of my theological students, was in- 
stalled as Pastor of the Universalist Society in Spencer, 
and it naturall}^ enough was assigned to me to preach the 
Installation Sermon. 

April 29tli. — Rev. J. M. Austin was installed as Pastor 
of the Universalist Society in South Danvers, on which 
occasion Br. Cobb preached the Sermon of Installation. 

MASSACHUSETTS CONVENTION. 

This body held an annual session in Framingham, June 
3d. My service on this occasion was, as per previous ap- 
pointment, the delivery of the " Occasional Sermon." My 
text was Matt. iv. 4: ."But he answered and said, It is 
written, Man shall not live b}^ bread alone, but by every 
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." The 
object of the discourse was to show, that the whole of a 
man's life does not consist in the supply of his physical 
wants, but that it largely consists also in the inheritance of 
21 



242 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



the principles and graces of the gospel. It follows that 
our reasonable appropriations for the support of religious 
education, are as trul}^ and reall}^ ministering to the con- 
stitutional wants of men, insomuch as to constitute an 
essential part of their living, as are our labors for ma- 
terial goods. The discourse was published in the Trum- 
pet and Universalist Magazine of July 4th, 1835. 

THE JUBILEE. 

The fiftieth meeting of the " General Convention of 
Universalists for the New England States and Others," 
was held in Hartford, Ct., on September 16th and ITtii. 
From its being the fiftieth yearly meeting, we called it the 
Jubilee. Eight}^ preachers were present ; and it was a 
most interesting meeting. It was here that I met for the 
first time that excellent and eminent minister of the word, 
Stephen R. Smith. He delivered a discourse on this occa- 
sion. Commencing in a natural and conversational, and, 
I must confess, rather unpromising manner, he warmed 
with his subject as he advanced, and the spirit inspired the 
language, and his strain became one of surpassing elo- 
quence. 

VISIT TO TROY. 

In compliance with an earnest invitation from the Com- 
mittee of the Universalist Society in Troy, N. Y., I jour- 
neyed on from Hartford, wife in company, to that young 
and beautiful city, and preached there the succeeding two 
Sundaj^s. At the close of the afternoon services of the 
second Sunday, the Societj^ held a brief meeting b}^ notice 
■''rom the desk, and unanimously voted Br. Cobb a call for 



A. D. 1835. 



243 



settlement as tlieir Pastor, on a salary of $1,000.* I re- 
served my answer to be sent them by letter, on a subsequent 
day. 

Our ride home from Troy, two hundred miles, by our 
private carriage, through a great number of handsome 
villages, and in the range of much beautiful scenery, was 
very interesting. 

After my return home, my stud}^ was of course much 
devoted to the question of removal to Troy. It was a 
difficult question. I could not, but with painful emotions, 
think of leaving my people in Maiden, with whom I had 
been most pleasantly connected more than seven years, and 
so pleasant, and in many respects most enviable vicinity as 
that of Boston. I had no occasion of dissatisfaction with 
my people, except in the circumstance that a portion of 
them (including none who had been leaders), were in the 
way of thinking that all the society interests would go 
along prosperously, without their own constant personal 
attentions. Then, with regard to Troy, it was a young, 
beautiful, and enterprising city ; our society there, with a 
beautiful new Church, was also young and enterprising, and 
I imagined that I should find there a pleasant home, and a 
profitable field of labor. At length I concluded to accept 
the invitation, and wrote accordingly. 

But daily contact with the feelings of my people on the 
subject, and further consideration of the proposed change 
of location, furnished me. with the " blues." At length I 
received a private letter from a citizen of Troy, informing 
me that the Committee of that societ}'', on receiving my 

* These, and other figures which I have put down as indicating the salaries 
which were proposed to me by societies, will look small to city readers in these 
later times of higli salaries adapted to greater expensivenoss of living. But in 
those days, and those localities, they were respectable propositions. 



244 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



affirmative answer, fixing on the next April for my re- 
moval, engaged Rev. Menzies Ra3'ner, then out of employ- 
ment, to supply the desk until April. But they did not 
inform him that I was engaged to come unto them at that 
time ; and, after moving to Tro}^, and learning that fact, 
he complained of wrong and abuse, alleging that he 
understood his supply for the winter was to be in the 
capacity of a candidate for permanent settlement. My 
correspondent said that Mr. Rayner's course was exciting 
the sympathy of a few in his behalf; though none were 
opposed to me ; that it was creating some difficulty between 
members and the Committee, and he thought I ought to be 
made acquainted with the facts. I at once wrote the Com- 
mittee on the subject, and asked to be released from my 
engagement. They assured me that no change of feeling 
had taken place in relation to me ; that it would be of no 
benefit to Mr. Rayner for me to withdraw ; for, if he 
should gain a settlement, it would be a very short one. 
And they declined to release me. But, after the inter- 
change of a few more letters, I positively revoked my en- 
gagement ; alleging that it was with extreme difficulty that 
I brought my mind to the conclusion to move to Troj^, in 
view of all matters there as pleasant and harmonious as 
they were when I left that city in September ; and that 
there was evidently a change of circumstances in some 
respects affecting the social elements there, and I had deter- 
mined to remain in Maiden. 

Note. Mr. Rayner did obtain a settlement in Troy ; 
and it was a very short one, as the Committee predicted. 
And I believe that a kind Providence perpetuated my abode 
in a vicinage in which my best life mission should be 
served. 



A. D. 1836. 



245 



THE BOSTON ASSOCIATION 

Held a session in Stougliton November AtJi, when Br. 
Cobb preached the Occasional Sermon. Br. Isaac Brown 
was ordained to the work of the ministry ; and Brs. J. W. 
Talbot, and Horace W. Morse, my theological students, — 
and also Br. Joseph B. Morse, — received Letters of Fel- 
lowship as preachers of the gospel. 

My Diary throughout closes each year with a paragraph 
of moralizing, and now and then I have copied one into 
this book of records. I will copy another here : — 

" December 31st. — This day closes another year. My family, 
consisting of myself, wife, and nine children, including the 
adopted niece, have enjoyed almost uninterrupted health during 
the year; and nothing has occurred to mar our happiness. We 
(myself and wife) have journeyed considerably, and enjoyed 
the intercourse of many friends, far and near. Our friends in 
our own society, remain united and steadfast ; and we have been 
overcoming the prejudice and gaining the personal friendship 
of the members of other religious societies. My movement 
towards the change of my pastoral relation from Maiden to 
Troy, N. Y., has called the attention of not a few here to a more 
serious study of their personal duties to society and the cause of 
truth, which is working out favorable results." 

A. D. 1836. 

THE COUNCIL ON THE TEMPERANCE LECTURE. 

I had an engagement to preach in a School House in 
"West Newbury on The First Sunday in January. A 
friend of the temperance cause in that place, being informed 
of my Sabbath engagement, conferred with me on the ques- 
tion of delivering a Temperance Address in the town Sat- 
urday evening. I consented to do so. He then laid the 
21* 



246 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



matter before the Temperance Society. The President, at 
a subsequent meeting of the society, where he presented 
the matter, together with a request that the lecture should 
be delivered in the Calvinist Church or Vestry, requested 
that all Universalists present might retire. Then, as 
report from among themselves discloses it, the question 
was raised, " What effect will it have upon our religious 
societ}^, to admit Mr. Cobb into our Meeting House to lec- 
ture on temperance? " Some said that it would call in the 
more of their people ; and, if they should be pleased with 
the lecture, they might be induced to go and hear the lec- 
turer in his religious discourses on the Sabbath. But they 
deemed it not prudent to refuse their countenance to the 
Temperance Address ; the Church was opened on the occa- 
sion, and we had an interesting meeting ; as we had also in 
the School House on the Sabbath. 

INSTALLATION OF REV. J. GREGORY. 

January 21th. — Rev. John Gregory was installed this 
evening, as Pastor of the Universalist Society in Woburn ; 
on which occasion it was assigned to Br. Cobb to deliver 
the Charge. 

PARISH ACTIVITY. 

I have spoken of the increased activity in our home 
society which was excited by the movement towards my 
change of location from Maiden to Troy, N. Y. So soon, 
I have the following minute in my Journal : — 

''February 2d. — This evening several of the members of my 
society met at my house, to deliberate on the subject of making 
extensive alterations in the Meeting House. There is a prospect 
that the alteration will be effected." 



A. 2). 1836. 



247 



ESSEX COUNTY CONFERENCE. 

A2ml 20tJi. — I attended a meeting of this Conference at 
Danvers New Mills, and delivered a discourse. This con- 
ference was an ecclesiastical organization for Essex 
County, of the same grade with the County Associations. 

THE EDITORIAL OFFICE. 

May IQtJi. — By the solicitation of Rev. T. G. Farns- 
worth, of Haverhill, the proprietor of a religious and 
literary family newspaper, entitled The Gospel Sun, pub- 
lished in Haverhill, and edited by Rev. Otis A. Skinner of 
that place, I entered into an arrangement with him for a 
year, to act as Associate Editor, with Br. Skinner. This 
position involved an additional department of care and 
labor. 

DEDICATION IN SAUGUS. - 

May 19th. — The remodelled Universalist Meeting House 
in Saugus was Dedicated to-day. Br. S. Cobb preached 
the Sermon ; Br. Hosea Ballou offered the Dedicatory 
Prayer ; and Br. T. Whittemore delivered the Address to 
the Society. 

THE MERRIMAC RIVER ASSOCIATION, 

Met in Goffstown, N. H., May 26tei. On this occasion 
Br. T. J. Tenney was set apart to the work of the ministry 
by Ordination, — of the services of which it fell to my 
happy lot to preach the Sermon, and to offer the Ordination 
Vrayer. I lectured on temperance in this place on the pre- 
ceding evening, and this evening, after the services of the 
Association, I rode over to Hollis, and delivered a religious 
lecture in that place. 



248 



REV. STLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



MASSACHUSETTS CONVENTION. 

June 2d. — This bod}^ met in Wrentham. Br. Horace 
W. Morse, one of my theological students, and Br. James 
C. Burt, received Ordination, in the services of which it 
was m}^ privilege to give the Charge. 

THE MALDEN CHURCH REMODELLED AND 'RE- 
DEDICATED. 

June 29t7i. — So soon after its inception is this important 
reconstruction consummated. The interior of the old 
Brick Church was somewhat out of repair, and it was diffi- 
cult to warm it comfortably in cold weather. Now the 
galleries, tall pulpit, and old-fashioned square pews were 
all taken out ; a second floor was put in about twelve feet 
above the ground-floor, making .a large hall and vestr}^, 
with anterooms, below, and a beautiful audience room for 
public worship, in the upper story. On this day, June 
29tJi, it was rededicated, by appropriate religious services. 
Invocation by Rev. J. C. Waldo ; Scripture Lesson, by 
Rev. J. Banfield ; Sermon, by Rev. Tho. Whittemore ; 
Dedicatory Prayer, hj Rev. H. Ballon ; Address to the 
Societj^, by Rev. T. F. King ; and the Concluding Prayer 
by Rev. S. Streeter. 

The following paragraph in my private Journal is ap- 
pended to the record of these services : — 

"This society appears to be in a more flourishing condition 
than ever before. It was upon my decision to give up moving to 
Troy, N. Y., last winter, that they undertook this plan of im- 
provement in the Church. Doubtless a wise Providence will 
overrule for good the circumstance to which I refer. I then 
thought that I might be more useful in Troy ; but now my labors 



A. D. 1S36. 



249 



seem to be abundantly blessed in this place ; and I regard my 
situation as being in a wide field of useful labor. May the Lord 
continue to smile upon us in love." 

THE TEMPERANCE AGENCY. 

About the middle of August, Rev. Mr. Wilder, the 
Orthodox clergyman of Concord, IMass., and Dr. Cutter, 
Deacon of the Orthodox church of Woburn, called at mj 
house, and introduced themselves as a Sub-Committee from 
the General Committee of the Middlesex Count}^ Temper- 
ance Society, on the business of procuring a Lecturing 
Agent for that Society. They had heard much of ni}^ 
labors as a temperance lecturer on my own responsibility ; 
and they had called in the hope that they might engage me 
in the service of their Society. 

I answered them that I was not willing to enter into any 
eugagement which would interfere with my regular minis- 
terial labors on the Sabbath ; but I would consider any 
proposition the}' might make for week day and evening- 
service for the Middlesex Societ3^ We agreed on terms ; 
and I engaged, for a year, to devote an average of three 
days and evenings a week to the temperance cause, and to 
lecture frequentlj^ on Sunday- evenings. And I was to have 
in mj own hands the arrangement with regard to the par- 
ticular days and evenings which I should appropriate to 
this service, that I might adjust my labors in different 
spheres to the best advantage. 

And now, what thinks the reader of my success in reliev- 
ing mj'self of much lecturing, and extra service, by remov- 
ing from Maine to Massachusetts ? * I went earnestly into 

* There is a point bej-ond which the most powerful physical frame cannot with 
safety be urged ; and ilr. Cobb had reached that point years before this time ; 



250 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, B.J). 



the work ; lectured in the service of the Middlesex County 
Temperance Society a j^ear as per contract. Then I was 
re-elected to the same office by the Society at its annual 
meeting, for another year ; and in the second year I per- 
formed as great an amount of labor. During this second 
3^ear the public sentiment of the State, acting through the 
Legislature, enacted the prohibitive statute which was 
called the Fifteen Gallon Laiu.- It prohibited the sale of 
alcoholic liquors in less than fifteen gallon packages, which 
were the smallest packages in which liquors were allowed 
to be imported. Determined efforts were made by the 
rum-sellers and their coadjutors to prevent the enforcement 
of the law ; wherefore the Middlesex Society appointed a 
Committee of legal gentlemen, of which Hon. Samuel Hoar 
was Chairman, to aid its enforcement in our county . As I 
had been two years laboring in the county, lecturing over 
and over in all the towns and most of the school districts, 
this Legal Committee employed me for another year, to 
continue my service as the Lecturing Agent, and to co-op- 
erate with them, and with the Temperance Societies, in the 
uniform enforcement of the law. And these efforts were 
attended with a good degree of success. Nevertheless, in 
about a year afterwards, a repeal of that statute resulted 
from political entanglements. 

The labors of these three years in the Agency of the 
Middlesex Temperance Society were enormous. The lec- 
tures were not little thirty minute essays. In that stage 
of the temperance reform, there were ignorance, and preju- 

and now he overstepped it. I can remember very vi-ell that he went often away 

to lecture on Temperance when he should have been at home recuperating his 

already exhausted energies ; and I can remember, also, how he used to make 

light of his sufferings from colds and fatigue, so that his wife might not be 

alarmed. I feel sure that the trouble which terminated his existence had its 

origin as far back as this. 

^ Tub Memoirist. 



A. D- 1S30~3S. 



251 



dice, and hostility to be encountered ; — and old customs 
of all classes, good, bad and indifferent, were to be revolu- 
tionized ; and the necessary argument could not be com- 
pressed within a shorter space of time than an hour. Gen- 
erally my lectures exceeded an hour, and were of necessity 
uttered in what I felt, an earnest spirit. I circulated the 
pledge, the Teetotal" pledge, at the close of every lecture, 
and, in all, thousands of names were won, and many new 
societies were organized. I worked over even the old tem- 
perance societies, advancing them from the partial pledge, 
discarding distilled spirits only, to the thorough pledge, 
discarding, as a beverage, all intoxicating liquors, distilled 
and fermented. And. besides my public lectures, I labored 
much in conversation with individuals at their homes. 
And I called upon most of the taverners. victuallers and 
gTocers in the county, and labored with them on the sub- 
ject of their voluntary abandonment of the liquor-traffic. 
They treated me respectfully, and generally professed a 
desire to be rid of that branch of their business. ''But," 
each one would sa}-, if I refuse to supply my customers 
with liquor, and others around me sell it. my customers 
will go to others, not only for their liquor, but with all 
their custom ; so that I shall suffer loss without any good 
result, as no less liquor will be sold. But prohibit the 
business by law, and it will be impartial ; and will relieve 
me from liability to complaint from nfly customers." But, 
when such just and impartial law obtained, it did not please 
them. 

THE THREATENED MOB. 

There was quite a rowdy set of tippling hangers-on about 
the tavern in Bedford Village. One evening when I had a 
lecture in the Unitarian Church in that Village, as I was 



252 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



about to commeuce the services, I observed the entrance 
into the vestibule of a company of rough-looking men, with 
shouldered canes, deploying in military stj^le, and separat- 
ing into two parties, which took their stands at the two 
doors opening from the vestibule into the Church. It was 
obvious to my perceptions that mischief was intended. I 
arose and offered a few introductory remarks, solemnly 
stating the purpose of the meeting, and recognizing the 
relations sustained by the people present, as husbands, 
wives, fathers, mothers, children, brothers, sisters, and 
members of society, — and the duties and privileges which 
appertained to all those relations, with the due observance 
and improvement of which was associated peace, prosperity 
and happiness, — and from the disregard of which pro- 
ceeded wretchedness and ruin. These suspicious charac- 
ters looked, and looked, with raised faces and parted lips ; 
and one after another moved softl}^ in and took seat in a 
pew, until one was left standing alone, who turned and 
went away. I learned after the dismission of the meeting 
that my suspicions did the party no injustice. They agreed 
(about a dozen of them), in the tavern, to go into the 
Church and break up the meeting, by annojdng me, and 
irritating me to some words or acts which the}^ would make 
an occasion for dras^o-inor me out. But we had an exceed- 
ingly happy and profitable meeting. 



TEMPERANCE BETTER THAN FARMS. 

On a cold November evening, in the Baptist Meeting 
House in West Chelmsford, at the close of the lecture, while 
the pledge was being circulated, and many were signing it, 
I observed that a lady was earnestly entreating a gentle- 
man, whom I took to be her husband, to give the pledge his 



A, D. 1S-36-3S. 



253 



signature. He was an amiable man, Trith a young family, 
fast wasting himself b}' intemperance. As I was about 
retiring, the lady besought me to call with them at their 
house, which was near the church. I encleayored to per- 
suade her husband to sign the pledge. I urged him for his 
own sake, and for the sake of his wife and lovely children, 
who were gathered imploringdy around him, and by other 
important considerations, to compl}' with then- wishes. He 
oflFered several excuses, which I disposed of, and at last he 
objected to signing so hastily, because whatever he pledged 
himself to, he calculated to fulfil. " That," I replied, " is 
the best of reasons why you. should sign the temperance 
pledge now. If I had no hope of 3'our keeping the pledge 
I should not care to have you sign it. But you have 
acknowledged that the pledge is good if kept : and now 
you say that if you sign it you shall keep it ; therefore this 
is the very moment to sign it, and secure the good." 

He beckoned his wife for the pen, which was instantly 
passed ; when he as instant!}' signed the pledge, writing 
down his name with an emphasis. Then there was great joy 
in that house. The wife and children cried for joy. I was 
happy to learn from time to time, that he was honoring that 
pledge, and the joy of his family was not trnmed to worm- 
wood. 

A year from the next March I was riding thi'ough the 
neighborhood ; and, coming within sight of the reformed 
man's house, I saw him at work in his door-yard, chopping 
and piling a liberal supply of firewood for the season. I 
rode into his yard, and, after a cordial greeting. I said to 
him, "^ell, friend, C, how do 3-ou Hke the pledge?" 
'■^ Like it!'' he replied, "J would not be back where I icas 
when you called upon me a year ago last fcdL for the best 
22 



254 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



farm in Chelmsford. No ! not for ttoo of the best farms in 
Chelmsford tuoidd I be there again.''* 

This testimony to the value of temperance requires no 
comment. 

TO THE GENERAL COURT AGAIN. 

At the annual State Election, November \Uh, 1836, 1 was 
again elected as Maiden's Representative to the Massachu- 
setts General Court. 

This election was without my consent and against my 
choice. When my friends had spoken with me on the sub- 
ject, I had declined the candidacy, and insisted that I 
must not be put in nomination. I had several reasons for 
my refusal, which I frankly stated. First, the duties which 
had devolved upon me by the two important offices which 
I held, that of Pastor of the First Parish in Maiden, and 
that of Lecturing Agent of the Middlesex Temperance 
Societ}^, were sufficient for me. I was unwilling to take 
upon myself, even for a few months, the additional respon- 
sibilities of the proposed political office. In the second 
place, my known preference between the candidates for the 
Presidency in the election of the same day, would subject 
me to misrepresentation, and bring me into collision with 
the political party feelings of some of my choicest friends. 
This was my situation : A Republican from the begin- 
ning, I would not go with the majority of that party when, 
under the name of Democrats, they ran Gen. Jackson into 
the Presidency ; because I would never act as a mere party 
man, but guided my course by my views of the public 
weal. I regarded J. Q. Adams a more eminently qualified 
man to serve the national honor and interest in the Chief 
Magistracy. 



A. D. 1S36. 



255 



But, as I explained to my .Maiden friends when they con- 
ferred with me on the question of mj candidacy in 1832, 
Gen. Jackson exceeded my expectations. And though I 
did not receive all his political doctrines, he had put in 
process of development some methods of national pohcy 
which the advancement and complications of the business 
interests of the countr}^ forced upon our attention, which I 
wished to see further tested by Mr. Van Buren as his suc- 
cessor. There was not with me any change in regard to 
essential political doctrines ; but a desire to see further 
tested some important experiments on matters upon which 
the business machiner}^ of the countrj^ was getting settled 
down. But the technical politicians are incapable of com- 
prehending that an honest man may act for an idea^ indc- 
pendenth' of part}^ considerations ; or that an advancement 
to new forms of action demanded by an advancement in the 
relations and interests of the countr}^, is not identical with 
a change of political principles. Knowing this, it was my 
desire, at this juncture, to remain and act, politically, in 
m}^ capacit}^ as a private citizen. 

On the Saturday before the election, which was Mondaj^, 
I went to Haverhill for an exchange of Sabbath services 
with Kev. T. G. Farnsworth. As I was starting out from 
home, with my private carriage, I was met hy my friend, 
the Chairman of the Democratic Town Committee, who 
earnestly inquired whether I would not consent to be nom- 
inated for the Legislature, I replied that I would not ; and 
charged him to let m}^ name alone in that relation. Nev- 
ertheless, when I reached my home, Monday noon, just 
before the time for opening the town meeting, m}' famih' 
Informed me that the Democratic caucus, at 11 o'clock 
Saturday evening, put me in nomination for the office of 
Representative. And I was elected. And mjMioble friend, 



256 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D, 



Chairman, I believe, of my Parish Committee, who called 
and persuaded me to accept the nomination in 1832, and 
who was now the candidate on the opposite ticket, all un- 
known to me, could not help being hurt by my election, 
and permitting his feelings to become alienated from me. 
I regretted it ; but I could not censure myself for aught 
that I had done or said in the premises. 

INSTALLATION AND DEDICATION, IN HYANNIS 
AND YARMOUTHPORT. 

November 2M. — I preached the Sermon of the Installa- 
tion of Br. George Hastings, another of my theological 
students, over the Universalist Society in Hj^aunis. And 
on the succeeding day, the 24th, a new Universalist Meeting 
House in Yarmouthport was Dedicated, Rev. T. Whitte- 
more preaching the Dedicatory Sermon. This service was 
held in the morning ; and the writer delivered a discourse 
in the afternoon. 

From this Dedicatory and Ordination mission to Cape 
Cod, I returned to my accustomed field of labor, and filled 
up the measure of the year with continued work in the 
offices of Christian Pastor and Temperance Lecturing Agent. 
And in both these capacities I felt that I had the blessing 
of the Father, — whose injunction upon us, thi-ough his 
inspired servant is, " To do good, and to communicate, 
forget not ; for with such sacrifices God is well pleased." 



A. D. 1S37. 



257 



A. D. 1837. 

January, Febkuary, March, and April to the 20th. 

IN THE LEGISLATURE. 

Having been elected to represent Maiden in the Massa- 
chusetts Legislature the current year, the term of time 
above denoted was employed in that service. This was 
a somewhat severe extra service, as I did not neglect either 
my legitimate attentions to ni}" Parish, or to the Middlesex 
Temperance Society, so far as the evening lectures were 
concerned. I did find it necessary, however, to suspend 
the lecturing about a fortnight, when, as a member of the 
Committee on Prisons, I was on an investigation of affairs 
in the State Prison, which occupied afternoons and even- 
ings. 

There were several subjects of legislation, which were 
Important at the time, on which I took an active part in 
debate ; but this matter of State Prison investigation im- 
posed upon me the greatest amount of labor. 

I being Chairman, on the part of the House, of the Joint 
Standing Committee on Prisons and Prison Discipline, sev- 
eral letters were addressed to me, some from persons in 
their own name, intimately conversant with the affairs of the 
State Prison, and others anonymous, representing that there 
were serious errors in the internal management of its affairs 
by the Prison Government. At length I moved in the House 
an Order, which was passed, and concurred in by the Sen- 
ate, instructing the aforesaid Committee to investigate those 
affairs. We spent nine afternoons and evenings in the 
Prison, on this business. But I found that there was quite 
a difference between reported miscellaneous conversations 
of men, and the testimony of the same men under oath. 
22* 



258 



EEV. SYLVAIs'US COBB, D.D. 



Persons who had been officers in the State Prison had 
furnished me in writing with the names of officers then in 
subordinate departments who would testify against the 
administration of the Warden, Mr. Lincoln, and with the 
substance of the testimonies they would give. But, when 
on the Witness Stand, they did not fully sustain the repre- 
sentations which were furnished me in advance, of their 
testimony. It was evident that there had been errors com- 
mitted in the government of the Prison. But, upon careful 
examination, it did not appear to me, who was the most 
severe, in my judgment of the Warden, of all the members 
of the Committee, that there was sufficient cause for expul- 
sion from office ; and the Report of the Committee was in 
accordance with this view. 

The Report, was presented by Mr. Gurney, Chairman 
on the part of the Senate ; but it was probably drawn up 
by Mr. Adan, Chairman of the Board of Inspectors. It 
contained two or thi-ee statements to which I objected, and 
which Mr. Gurne}^ crossed with pencil, and promised to 
strike out. But, when I subsequently saw the Report in 
print, I perceived that the objectionable sentences were 
there. I was not in my seat when the Report was read in 
the House ; or I should have moved the re-committal of it, 
for the making of the corrections. One of the objectionable 
sentences I repudiated in vindication of my own common 
sense. I mention it, because the Report is in various 
public and private Libraries, and some of my friends who 
will read this, may have occasion to run their eyes over 
that. In opposition to the charge against the Warden of 
furnishing to the prisoners inferior and unsuitable provis- 
ions, the Report says for the Committee, " We have visited 
the Prison, and eaten of the provisions," &c. Since the 
Order for this investigation had been published in time to 



A. n. 1837. 



259 



afford the Warden ample opportunity to prepare for our 
scrutin}^, tliis official announcement, that we had eaten of 
the meats which were provided for our examination and 
found them good, as iDroof that the proA'isions furnished the 
prisoners had alwaj^s been up to the legal standard, is so 
utterly silly and senseless, that I was exceedingly mortified 
with seeing my own official signature attached to it in 
print, and in a permanent public document. But we often 
have our lessons of wisdom set to us in experience. 

This investigation, though it did not result in what was 
doubtless the wish of the prime movers in its procurement, 
viz., the removal of the Warden, had evidently a good effect 
in the way of correcting some descriptions of maladminis- 
tration in the government of the Prison. 

MIDDLESEX BRIDGE. 

The Charter of this bridge , for obtaining which I was 
elected to the General Court for 1834, expired this winter 
by its own limitation to three years for building ; and 
at this session I procured an extension of time for its 
construction. Then, in concurrence with the sentiments 
of my Maiden friends, and with the aid of a Committee 
of citizens, an arrangement was effected with the old 
Maiden Bridge proprietors, by which they adopted and 
forthwith procured, the Legislature to confirm unto them, a 
change of their charter to render it precisely like ours. 
Thus they constituted theirs a self-creating free bridge con- 
cern. This was well for them ; for the new bridge would 
have rendered theirs as a property worthless. And it was 
well for the public that was interested in this line of 
travel ; for, by securing all the custom to one bridge, it 
was the sooner bought up by the excess of tolls above 



260 



HEF. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



expenses. In a few years the appraised value of Maiden 
Bridge was paid to the proprietors out of the tolls, and the 
bridge, all but the space for draws for navigation, was 
built anew of solid stone and gravel from the same re- 
source, — and made free. 

MAINE CONVENTION. 

This body held a session in Turner, June 28th and 29t7i. 
It was a great meeting. There were twenty preachers in 
attendance ; and such a multitude of people gathered 
together, that only the females could be accommodated in 
our large Meeting House. Meetings were held simulta- 
neously, some hours of the second day. On the 28th it 
was assigned to me to preach in the Baptist Meeting 
House at 5 o'clock p. m., while Br. Hawkins preached in 
the Town House. On Thursday, the 29th, I preached in 
our Meeting House in the afternoon, and delivered the then 
customary Valedictory Addresses. 

"THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME." 

THE DISAPPOINTMENT. 

After the Convention at Turner, I preached on the suc- 
ceeding Sunday in Norway ; and tarried for a few visits 
there, purposing to take a water passage from Portland to 
Boston on the night before Independence, and spend that 
consecrated day with my famil3\ But I was sadly disap- 
pointed ; and how sadly I cannot so well describe as by 
inserting here the following scrip, all but the closing part 
of which I wrote in a secluded store chamber in Portland, 
on that consecrated day itself : — 



A. D. 1837. 



261 



" Capt. Churchill's Counting Room, 
"Portland, July 4th, 1837. 

*' This is such a Fourth of July as I never spent before. I am 
lonesome; I am afflicted. And wh)^? My health is good ; the 
weather is fair; and there are many friends in the city disposed 
to do anything in their power to make my time pass agreeably. 
Yes ; but I am not with that friend with whom I expected to 
spend this Birth-Day of American INDEPENDENCE. I 
have it not in my power to aid and witness the enjoyment of 
that lovely brood of little ones, in whose veins my own blood 
flows, — and in whom, with their angel mother, is my earthly 
life bound up. 

"I came here last evening, from my attendance on the Maine 
Convention, and my visit to relatives, in Oxford County, expect- 
ing to embark at 7 o'clock by the steamer Portland to arrive at 
Boston this morning. By previous arrangement, my wife was 
to come over to Br. T. F. King's, in Charlestown, this morning, 
with my horse and chaise to convey me home ; and I was to 
meet her there at ten o'clock. But on my arrival at this city 
(Portland), I was informed that the steamer Portland was under 
repair at Boston ; and there is no boat going until 7 o'clock this 
evening, I was stricken, and afflicted. I could not shake off 
the sadness of my disaiDpointment. But I went, according to 
previous engagement, and took supper with my old friend and 
playmate, Lewis Crocket. Talking over the affairs of our juve- 
nile years whiled away an hour of time. And I called upon Br. 
D. D. Smith; and then went and took lodgings with Capt. 
Isaac Nutter, where I lost the suffering of my disappointment 
in a comfortable night's sleep. 

"I awoke, this Independence-Day morning, refreshed ; and, 
after breakfast, I walked to the barber's, on Fore Street, and 
there learned that the steamer New England had been gone for 
Boston but about twenty minutes, having put in last evening, 
contrary to her custom, and tarried until this morning. Then 
did my spirits fall again under painful regret that I had not 
known to avail myself of the opportunity of a day passage, and 
by the same means get to my dear companion and children this 
evening. I walked the streets a few minutes ; but I could not 
look up ; I could not seek the faces of my friends in this city. 



262 



JlET^. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.T>. 



There is no company for me here, because my heart is else- 
where. And I retire to this secluded apartment, off on a silent 
and almost vacated wharf, to employ my time in lonely musing, 
and in miscellaneous scribbling, of which this is a specimen. 

" It is now half past 10 o'clock a. m. ; my wife is doubtless at 
Br. King's agreeably to arrangement for our meeting; and, 
unless he is able to inform her of the faihu-e of the Portland to 
perform her trip, she is looking for me with painful anxiety, and 
wondering that I do not report myself. Oh, thou dearest of 
earthly beings, to thee I would come if I could, this very min- 
ute. What a vast portion of my large store of earthly happiness 
is in my family. 

"But I have it not in nly heart to murmur. Surely God is 
good to us ; and this disappointment is for some good, to me 
as yet unseen. The feeling of disappointment I cannot sup- 
press ; but the assurance that the providence of God is right is 
an anodyne to my pained heart, a light in the midst of my 
darkness. I will endeavor to i>ut on a cheerful air, hoping to be 
landed at Boston to-morrow morning at 5 or 6 o'clock ; thence 
to take the mail stage, and reach my longed for home at 
8 A. M. 

Boston Bay, July 5th, Steamer Bangor. 

It is now 6 o'clock A. m., and we are just past ISTahant. The 
boat did not leave Portland last evening until an hour past its 
time, and the wind has been ahead. But we have had a pleas- 
ant night. I have slept considerably. It is a beautiful morning. 
Speed on, ye laboring wheels, that I may reach the presence of 
the loved ones of my heart. 

*' At 7 o'clock the boat arrived at the wharf, and I met there 
one of my Theological Students, John Allen, with my team in 
charge for my conveyance home, where, in the brief space oi an 
hour, I met my loved ones in health and happiness." 

Note. The wife's Diary shows that, though not anxious 
in regard to my safety, having learned that the Portland 
Steamer was off its route at the time, she was obliged to 
seek various devices for wearing away the time in her lone- 



A. D. 1837. 



263 



someness and disappointment. But slie had a privilege 
which I had not, — that of being with the famil}^, and 
assisting the children in their enjo3'ment of the day. 

THE SABBATH SCHOOL ASSOCIATION. 

Extract from my Diary : — 

Jidi/ 26tJi. — In the forenoon I met with a Sabhath School 
ConyeiitioD, for the organization of a Sabbath School Associa- 
tion. The Convention was holden in the Hanover Street Church 
in Boston. I was appointed Chairman of a Committee for 
drafting a Constitution. We had but barely time to agree on a 
report, when I vras unexpectedly called away to attend the fu- 
neral of Mr. Joel Tweed, in S. Reading. 

''August 8ih. — Having been elected as one of the Directors of 
the Sabbath School Association, organized on the 2r)th ult., I this 
day met with the Board of Managers in Boston, and was elected 
on the Committee for the examination and recommendation of 
books, and of manuscripts designed for publication, for the use 
of Sunday Schools." 

RESIGNATION OF MY PASTORSHIP IN MALDEN. 

On the Fifth jSiinclay in July, at the close of the after- 
noon services, I read to my congregation a letter which I 
had previonsl}^ sent to the Parish Committee, announcing 
and explaining my Resignation of the Pastoral office over 
that Society. The letter itself so fulty explains the reasons 
of this important step, that but few words need be added in 
that direction. Here is the letter : — 

" To THE Chairman of the Prudential Committee of 
THE First Parish in Malden: 
"Dear Sir and Brother, — The object of this communica- 
tion is to inform you, and through you the religious Church and 
Society with which we stand connected, that I resign my Pas- 



264 



ItEV. STLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



toral office over the said Church and Society, such resignation to 
take effect after the expiration of three months from the date 
hereof. While, in taking this step, I act from a sense of duty, 
I yet confess emotions of pain in the thought of leaving a soci- 
ety vs^ith whom I have been associated in their conflicts and 
trials, unto such pleasing success and prosperity ; a society with 
whose interests my heart has so long been bound up ; and of 
tearing myself and family from so many long cherished and 
valued friends, whose friendship being not a mere name, or 
expedient for a temporary purpose, but having its foundation in 
Christian fellowship and love, wears stronger and brighter by 
age. But I act upon mature deliberation. In pursuing the 
course that I have marked out for a limited time to come, the 
Lord willing, to pursue, I shall have the privilege of preaching 
the gospel wherever I may find an opening for my labors on the 
Sabbath ; and shall, in addition to this service, which I could not 
consent to relinquish for any other, labor on the week days in 
the cause of Temperance, of Freedom, and any moral enter- 
prise to the advancement of which I may be called. And I can, 
with more regularity and convenience, devote also the Sunday 
evenings to the work of my moral reform mission, particularly 
that involved in my agency of the Middlesex County Temper- 
ance Society. By this mission I hope to be able to do some addi- 
tional good in the community, co-operating with and aiding my 
Sabbath gospel labors, in promoting the temporal, and especially 
the moral and spiritual interests of my fellow creatures. 

" But though I shall preach as heretofore on the Sabbath, my 
other services just mentioned will be incompatible with the full 
and convenient discharge of all the duties of a settled Pastor. 

" I would further explain, however, that as my Temperance 
Agency is a temporary engagement, I should not have viewed 
it agreeable with duty to withdraw from this Societj- for the 
renewal of that service, were it not, after much consideration, 
my decided opinion that, circumstanced as this society is, you 
may avail yourselves of an opportunity to obtain a successor no 
less worthy of your confidence and esteem, and upon such 
terms for a time, as shall afford you the means of certain neces- 
sary provisions for your future convenience and prosperity. 

"With these views I have come to the conclusion above 
ex]3ressed ; and accordingly my relation as Pastor of the First 



A. D. lRr>7. 



265 



Eeligions Society in Maiden will cease on the 20th day of Octo- 
ber next ; which will complete nine and a half years since my 
removal to this place. I shall never cease to pray for the pros- 
perity and happiness of this beloved Church and Society, and to 
hold in fond remembrance the many true and faithful friends, 
whose social and Christian intercourse I have so richly enjoyed. 
"Yours in the Everlasting Bonds of the Gospel, 

" SYLVANUS COBB. 

*' Benj. G. Hill, Chairman, &c. 

" Malden, July 20th, 1837." 

The foregoing letter sets forth so distinctly the strong 
points in the argument for my resignation of the Pastor- 
ate, that I need add but a few words in further explanation. 
Suffice it to sa}^, that my salary from the Parish was con- 
siderably insufficient for the support of my family, with 
economical living. The house full of boarding and 
instructed theological students from year to year, and the 
much lecturing far and near, and the brief services in the 
Legislature, all must needs have gone into the account to 
keep us even with those w^ho served us. I had eight young 
children, six of them sons, for whose continued support 
and education, I was responsible ; and whom I was bound 
to aid, at the appropriate age, in the procurement of busi- 
ness for a livelihood. And I did not deem it expedient 
that I should continue under the pressure of the responsi- 
bilities of a settled Pastor, when, partly from necessity for 
the maintenance of my famil}^, and partly with a view to 
more extensive usefulness, I must perform so great an 
amount of outside labor. 

Having served the Middlesex Temperance Society, as 
well as I could in connection with my Pastoral care, and as 
much as I engaged, I was now re-elected ; and there was a 
general desire that I should place myself in a position in 
23 



266 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



which I could devote to the work of this Agenc}^ the week 
days more excUisivel}', and Sundaj^ evenings more gen- 
erall3\ Tlie second year of this Agency commenced with 
August. 

M}^ Diary, against the date of August 21st, reads 
thus : — 

"During the last three weeks my services in the cause of 
Temperance Iiave been mostly devoted to collecting facts, visit- 
ing different places for that jDurpose, and for making arrange- 
ments for 2)ractical operations, and writing addresses. The 
evenings have now become so long, that I shall soon be busily 
engaged in lecturing." 

THE ROCKINGHAM ASSOCIATION. 

August 30th and 31st, this Association held a session in 
Haverhill, N. H. On this occasion Br. Joseph O. Skinner, 
one of my theological students, received Ordination. Br. 
S. Cobb preached the Ordination Sermon, from 1 John i. 4. 

' VALEDICTORY AT MALDEN. 

On the afternoon of the Third Sunday in October, I 
delivered my Valedictory Discourse to the First Religious 
Church and Societ^^ in Maiden, it being the last Sunday of 
the first half of my ninth year in the Pastoral relation 
wifli them ; and the time assigned by m}^ letter of Resigna- 
tion to the Committee, for the close of that relation. My 
feelings were strongl}^ wrought upon b}^ the occasion ; and 
there were manifested deep emotions generally in the large 
congregation. But there was, with me, a comfortable quiet 
in the reflection that I was not about to remove far away 
from this people, and from the famili9,r and loved scenery 



A. D. 1S37. 



267 



of this pleasant and interesting localit3^ I intended to 
make Maiden my place of residence yet for a while, and 
the vicinity my permanent home. 

ADYANTAGIES OF THE SITUATION. 

My withdrawal from the Pastoral charge did not involve 
a relinquishment of the Christian Ministry, or a diminution 
of interest in its work as a religious educational instru- 
mentality. Nor did I resign my special charge of the 
Maiden Parish with the view to seek another Pastoral set- 
tlement. I intended to preach on all the Sabbaths for 
which my services might be called, expecting that this con- 
dition would furnish me with emplojmient every Sabbath. 
And it was so. There were always openings enough for 
my Sunday services as a Christian Evangelist. But then 
and thenceforth these services did not involve, with me, an 
obligation to any particular society, which would hamper 
me with regard to the employment of the week in those 
literary labors, and works of moral reform, to Avhich my 
radical tastes and conceptions of duty much inclined me. 
These were prominent advantages of the situation. 

There is another advantage which this situation afforded 
me, having relation to the practical explicitness and faith- 
ful directness of my Sabbath discourses, in regard to the 
moral aspects of State and National administrations. The 
Christian teacher should always be faithful to his convic- 
tions of right and duty in this regard. But when the set- 
tled Pastor knows that there are strong and influential 
members of his Parish, who are so .enslaved to a political 
partisanship, which embraces, and sanctions, and nourishes 
a monstrous moral wrong, that if he should expose the 
enormity of the evil and rebuke its sinfulness, from the 



268 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



pulpit, they will gnash upon him with their teeth, and 
strive to eject him from his place, he is sorely tempted to 
deliberate the question, whether it may not be that "the 
better part of valor is discretion." But if he is above this 
skulking policy, and regards persecution for right-doing 
the lesser, and the punishment of wrong-doing the greater 
evil, nevertheless the trial is a painful one. 

But my new situation afforded me much freedom from 
the embarrassment above described. However much iV. 
may have been guided by conscience, and exercised free- 
dom of utterance on moral questions of national interest, 
in my Pastoral relation, I subsequently enjoyed greater 
conscious freedom. While I w^as impressed with a sense 
of my responsibility as an ambassador of Christ, to speak 
at all times and places in a spirit and manner consistent 
with the sacred office, regarding alwaj^s the glory of God 
and the good of mankind, my position did not trouble me 
with the question as to the effect of my "words upon my 
personal interest. At the close of a Sabbath's services, 
when I have been moved in spirit to treat pointedly on a 
ruinous national sin, or a vicious social custom, I have 
sometimes said to the congregation, that I had dealt faith- 
fully with some topics in relation to which the community 
was divided ; but they would have no occasion to call a 
Parish meeting to act upon the question of my dismissal, 
for my engagement with them was up at sun-down ; and we 
could do no better than take those subjects home with 
us respectively, and deliberate upon them in Christian 
soberness. 



A. D. 1838. 



269 



A. D. 1838. 

A SPECIMEN OF THE AGENCY. 

I had now gone thoroughly into the work of my Lectur- 
ing Agency for the Middlesex Temperance Society. As a 
specimen of the diligence devoted to it, I will transcribe 
here from my Diary the journal of the first nine days of 
this new j^ear : — 

JANUARY. 

" 1st. — Hail, thou new born j^ear ! Benignant be thy reign. 
Under it may our improvements be great, and our blessings 
many. 

*' 2d. — I delivered a temperance lecture in Stoneham. 
" UTi. — Temperance lecture in Woburn. 
" bill. — Lectured in Wilmington. 

" 1st Sunday. — Preached in South Danvers, for Br. Austin; 
and returned to Maiden ; M^here I lectured on temperance in the 
evening, in the Baptist Church, to a large and attentive audi- 
ence. 

" 8tJi. — Temperance lecture in West Reading. 

" 9tJi. — Lectured in the Baptist Church in Newton Centre." 

THE PROVIDENCE SOCIETY. 

January 10th. — By invitation of a Committee of the 
Providence County Temperance Convention, I lectured 
before their meeting this evening, preparatory to the organ- 
ization of a County Society. This organization was 
effected at the time. 

On the next day I attended the Annual Meeting of the 
Rhode Island State Temperance Society ; and, by invita- 
tion, took part in their debates. In the evening, in com- 
pliance with an invitation from the Committee of the 
23* 



270 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



Pawtucket Societ}^, I lectured in the Orthodox Church in 
Pawtucket. 

January, Second Sunday, — I preached in Providence, 
for Br. Balch, to large and attentive congregations ; and in 
the evening lectured in the Universalist Chapel, to a 
crowded audience, for the new Providence Count}^ Tem- 
perance Societ3\ 

Such loan of a helping hand to the good cause in a 
neighboring State, as also in other Counties in our own 
State, was regarded by my employers in Middlesex County 
as legitimate and commendable. 

PAHOCHIAL COMMOTION IN SOUTH WEY- 
MOUTH. 

"the morning light is breaking." 

On the First Sunday in February, I preached in the 
Old Parish Church in South Weymouth ; and under cir- 
cumstances of singular distinctiveness, and peculiar inter- 
est. 

The Parish was nomiuall}'- Orthodox ; and a majority of 
the church, with the Pastor, had been of that t^'pe of Or- 
thodoxy distinguished as Hopkinsianism. But the scale, 
in the church, had turned in favor of a more mixed tj'pe 
of theology ; and the Hopkinsian Pastor resigned. Then 
the Parish elected a Committee of three to supply the 
pulpit from the first of February to the middle of April, 
the time of the annual Parish meeting. Of that Commit- 
tee Mr. Charles Pratt was made Chairman ; and he was a 
Universalist in sentiment ; and the onl}- known Universal- 
ist in the Parish. Indeed, even he was known to be such 
to but few. It was not as such that he was placed at the 



A. D. 1S38. 



271 



head of the Committee ; but it was for the estimation in 
which he was held ; and his energy of character insuring 
attention to any matter committed to him. 

The Committee agreed that, for the first three Sundays, 
each of their number should, in rotation, select the preacher 
of his own individual choice, beginning with the Chairman, 
Mr. Pratt. He came forthwith in person, and engaged me 
to preach the first Sunda}^ 

Who would be the choice of the second member of the 
Committee, no one could guess. But at the close of the 
first Sunday's services, he came to me before leaving the 
Vestibule of the Church, and engaged me to preach for 
him on the next Sunday. This I did, of course. And 
the number and interest of the congregation increased. 
Numbers received the word with readiness of mind, and 
manifested a feeling which reminded me of the record of 
the effect of the gospel preached by Philip in Samaria, 
" And there was great joy in that city." 

Well, what next in this chapter of wonders? The next 
was the act of the third Committee man, coming to me, 
contrary to all expectation, at the close of the second Sun- 
day's services, and engaging me as Ids minister also, to fill 
the pulpit of the old Parish Church on the third Sunday of 
this new dispensation. And glorious meetings we had on 
that third Sunday. Most of the members of the Parish 
attended ; others came in ; and the interest in the gospel 
as expounded by the Universalist ministry increased. 

And yet, what next ? Why, this it was ; the Committee 
in its official capacity, as a whole, engaged me to suppl}^ 
their pulpit during the balance of their term of office, to 
the annual Parish meeting the middle of April. Then, of 
course, as we expected, the two classes of Orthodox pro- 
fessors united in opposition to Universalism, and took con-. 



272 JIEV. SYLVAN us COBB, IJ.n. 



trol of the pulpit. But a sufficient number had received 
the light of the gospel in its fulness, to organize a separate 
meeting in a convenient hall. 

INSTALLATION OF EEV. J. G. ADAMS. 

Rev. John G. Adams was the man of my choice to be- 
come my successor in the Pastorate of the First Church 
and Society in Maiden. And he was the people's choice. 
He was duly Installed into this office February 28th. It 
devolved upon the Ex-Pastor to preach the Installation 
Sermon. Rev. T. F. King offered the Installing Prayer ; 
Rev. H. Ballon, 2d, delivered the Charge ; Rev. O. A. 
Skinner, the Right Hand of Fellowship ; and Rev. Thos. 
Whittemore, the Address to the Society. 

INVITATION TO WALTHAM. 

I preached in Waltham on the tJiird /Sunday in March. 
There was a young and small Universalist Society there, 
w^orshipping in Bank Hall. A young brother by the name 
of Wm. C. Hanscom, had been preaching for them ; but he 
was now, b}^ reason of disease, unable to preach. There- 
fore the Committee of the Societ}^ invited me to remove to 
that place, and supply their desk the year ensuing. I 
assented to their proposition ; not to assume the Pastoral 
relation, which it was understood that my other engage- 
ments would render inexpedient, — but to make that 
pleasant Village m}^ family home, and supply the 3'oung 
Societj^'s preaching, by the Sabbath. In coming to this 
conclusion I also took into consideration the location of 
Waltham in the County of Middlesex, so central as the 
base of operations in my Temperance Agency. With a 



A. D. 1838. 



273 



smart horse of my own, I coulcl, in pleasant weather, 
return to my home in the evening, after the lecture, from a 
considerable portion of the towns in the County. 

REMOVAL TO WALTHAM. 

During the last week in April I removed, family and 
furniture, from Maiden to Waltham, which is ten miles 
west from Boston. The Village is one of the handsomest 
in this region, and the farms, back, are well husbanded 
and productive. It had at this time four churches, the 
Trinitarian Cougregational, Unitarian, Baptist, and Meth- 
odist ; and several Cotton Factories, on Charles River. 
We took a large house on Main Street, near the Bank, 
which furnished" ample room for our numerous family. 

THEOLOGICAL STUDENTS. 

At this point, having, with m}^ removal from Maiden, 
and the retirement from the position of settled Pastor, 
closed my charge of theological students, it may be appro- 
priate to make record of my doings in this department of 
labor. 

I had accommodated thi-ee young men with board in my 
family, and tuition, as students for the Christian ministry, 
in Waterville, Me. These were Zenas Thompson, Fred- 
eric A. Hodsdon and Alanson St. Clair. 

In Maiden, the necessity was laid upon me to run quite 
a Theological School. We had no public institution for 
the education of young men for the ministry at that time ; 
nor was it convenient for our Boston clergymen to take stu- 
dents into their families. The Parsonage which we occu- 
pied was a large house ; and I committed myself to the 



274 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



responsibility at once on commencing my residence in Mai- 
den, by permitting a student, N. C. Fletcher, to follow me 
directly from Maine, on ni}^ removal tbence. So it came to 
pass that, when any of onr neighboring clergymen were 
called npon by a j^onng man for accommodation in this 
line, forthwith he was directed to the Maiden Parsonage. 
The number who served terms of prepara'.orj^ study for the 
ministry in that Parsonage during my pastorate there was 
seventeen; — viz., N. C. Fletcher, Rufus K. Pope, John 
Harriman, J. W. Talbot, Charles Gallagher, Theodore K. 
Ta3''lor, George Hastings, Charles S. Hussey, Elbridge 
Trull, Asa P. Cleverl^^ Abraham Norwood, Joseph O. 
Skinner, John Allen, Gilman Nqyes, Horace W. Morse, 
Erasmus Manford, Joseph Grammar. 

Some of those men, as should have been expected among 
so manj^, after a brief experience in the work of the minis- 
tr}^, went into other honorable branches of business ; others 
became able and popular, and most of them faithful and 
useful ministers of the gospel. 

THE WORK IN WALTHAM. 

As I have said, the meetings of the Universalist Society 
were held in the Bank Hall. Here I commenced my work 
in this new locality'. We forthwith organized a Sunday 
School ; and the influx of scholars, and enlistment of teach- 
ers, at the very outset, afforded us cheering encouragement. 

FUNERAL OF BR. HANSCOM. 

I have spoken of Br. Hanscom, as having commenced the 
work of gathering a society- here, and being disabled b}^ 
disease. I find the following memorandum in my Diary, 
in relation to his death, and funeral obsequies : — 



A. D. 1838. 



275 



*' Mmj 25th. — Returning home in the morning, from Bedford, 
I found that our Rev. Brother Wm. C. Hanscom died on the pre- 
vious day in Cambridgeport ; and that his remains were removed 
to my house, to be interred to-day. He had suffered a long and 
severe sickness of consumption, through the whole of which he 
enjoyed a strong and living faith in the gospel of universal grace 
and salvation. When he felt that his departure was near, he 
made out a full programme for the services at his funeral, which 
was as follows : — 

1. The Scripture Lesson, 1 Cor. xv., beginning at verse 35th, 
to be read by Br. Lucius R. Paige. 

2. The First Prayer, by Br. J. G. Adams. 

3. The Sermon, by Br. T. Whittemore. 

4. The Concluding Prayer, by Br. T. F. King. 

5. Address at the grave, by Br. S. Cobb. 

He also selected all the hymns to be sung on the occasion. 

He died at 23 years of age, and his memory is affectionately 
and respectfully cherished by all who knew him, as an exem- 
plary Christian, and able and most zealous minister of the 
gospel." 

The Bank Hall was soon found to be of insufficient 
capacity for the accommodation of our meetings ; and, so 
soon as the Fourth Sunday in May., we commenced holding 
our Sabbath services in the Town Hall,* a commodious 
room, pleasantly situated on Church Street. Here our 
congregations grew in numbers and interest. 

Nathaniel Prentice Banks, since Governor of Massa- 
chusetts, Member and Speaker of the Plouse of Representa- 
tives of Congress, and Major General in the Army of the 
United States, a native of Waltham, was then a member 
of my congregation. He was then a youth, just budding 
into manhood ; was a Machinist, in the emploj'ment of the 
Waltham Manufacturing Company ; whence the appellation 
given him after his indomitable energies were developed in 
public life, — "The Ikon Man." At this time he was an 
active and successful member of a " Young Men's Debat- 



276 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB. D.D. 



ing Club," and a leader in many movements for the eleva- 
tion and education of his townsmen. 

DISCUSSION IN THE CONCORD FREEMAN. 

In June^ I published in the Concord Freeman a series of 
articles in advocacy of the merits of the Prohibitive Liquor 
Law, and of the measures then being prosecuted b}^ the 
friends of the Temperance cause, in reply to a letter by the 
Editor addressed to me, touching some remarks which I 
had made in a Temperance Convention. 

THE CHURCH ORGANIZED. 

July. — Early in this month we organized a church in 
connection with our society. Br. Ephraim Allen, of Wal- 
tham, and Br. James Francis, of Wayland, who had 
attached himself to our society, were elected Deacons. Mr. 
Francis was a brother of Mrs. L. Maria Childs, of literary 
celebrity. 

This church proved to be a happj^ fraternitj^, and the 
early membership of a goodly proportion of young men 
and women was an interesting ckcumstance. We num- 
bered thirty-three members at the outset. 

COLLECTION OF SALARY AT SO. WEYMOUTH. 

In relation to m}^ two and a half months service for the 
Orthodox Parish in South Wej^mouth, from Feb. 1st to the 
middle of April (see pp. 270, 271), the Treasurer of the 
Parish had declined paying me the stipulated compensa- 
tion, on the ground that my ministry was not of the type 
of Orthodoxy which the Parish had patronized. I now, 



A. D. 1838. 



277 



August 1st, left the bill of service with Esq. Kingsbury for 
collection ; and in a few dsijs he forwarded to me the 
money. And I deem the fact worthy of note, that, in all 
my business transactions, which in more than twenty years 
publication of a weekly journal were multiplied and exten- 
sive, this is the only case of my having committed a demand 
to a law3^er for collection. 

RECOGNITION OF THE CHURCH. 

September IStJi. — This evening we had a public Recog- 
nition, in due form, of the church the organization of which 
has just been noticed above. Rev. Messrs. C. C. Burr (of 
Maine), O. A. Skinner, L. R. Paige, and S. Streeter, per- 
formed parts in the services of the occasion. It was " a 
season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord." 

THE TEMPERANCE WORK. 

My private Journal exhibits me all along, while so atten- 
tive to the interests of Zion, as industriously at work in 
the business of my Agency of the Middlesex Temperance 
Society. During this autumn I was much engaged in pub- 
lic discussions, in controversy with selected opponents, of 
the law prohibiting the retail, except for medicines and use 
in the arts, of spirituous liquors in less quantities than 
fifteen gallons. 

On the evening of the First Sunday in October^ I loaned 
my service to the Suffolk County Temperance Society, and 
lectured for that organization in Father Ballou's Church. 
My subject was " The Connection of the Temperance Cause 
with our Civil, Social and Religious Institutions." The 
audience was large. 

24 



278 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



ERROR SELF-DESTRUCTIVE. 

On the evening of October 17th, when I had closed a 
lecture in the Congregational Meeting House in Bedford, I 
stepped into the Bar Room of the Tavern to order my 
team, and found it filled with rum drinkers. A Mr. Web- 
ber, who withdrew from the Unitarian Society at the time 
of mj previous lecture there, because it was in their Meet- 
ing House, seeing me, but pretending not to Iniow me, 
thought to rub me b}^ saying that this temperance business 
made it well for him, for he (beiug a Cooper), had increased 
calls now for rum-barrels. I said to him in repty, " Sir, I 
heard 3'ou say recently on the Muster-field in Watertown, 
that you withdrew from 3'our religious society, because 
the}" opened their house to a temperance lecture ; and be- 
cause these temperance lectures touched yoMv interest. The 
temperance cause, you said, was a damage to you of from 
fifty to a hundred dollars a year, by its effect on your busi- 
ness of making rum-barrels. But now you say it makes 
3'our business better by increasing the demand for your 
barrels. How will 3'ou explain yourself? " He seemed 
confused ; and, after muttering a few words, was silent. A 
ring was formed around me by the rum-drinkers and their 
allies, and a very serious conversation went on between me 
and the Landlord, — others throwing in a word now and 
then. All were attentive ; and I believed that the conver- 
sation would be of some good service. 

This was the Bar Room in which the unsuccessful mob 
was plotted on the occasion of my former lecture in the 
same Church. See p. 251. 

On the evening of the First Sunday in Novemher, I again 
lent my service to the Suflblk County Temperance Society, 



A. D. 1S38. 



279 



lecturing for them in Marlboro' Chapel. Had a large con- 
gregation. 

DEDICATION IN STERLING. 

November 21sf. — A new Union Meeting House was 
dedicated in Sterling. Father Ballon preached the Dedica- 
tory Sermon ; and Br. Cobb offered the Prayer of Dedica- 
tion, and preached a sermon in the evening. 

SUMMARY OF THE YEAR. 

The following conclusion of the record of the year I 
transfer from my Diary : — 

December olst. — This day terminates the year 1838. It has 
been to me a year of much labor, and much prosperity and hap- 
piness. JNIy numerous family, including my wife with myself, 
eight children, and niece, have enjoyed almost uninterrupted 
health. We removed from Maiden to this place, Waltham, on 
the 27th of April last. Here we have formed an interesting cir- 
cle of new acquaintances and friends, and the religious society 
with which I am connected as a present ministerial supply is 
highly prosperous. We have received acquisitions of numbers 
of valuable members, who have become very deeply interested 
in the cause of truth as it is in Jesus; and our meetings have 
considerably increased. In addition to my ministerial labors, I 
have served the whole year in the Temperance Agency, except 
a month's vacation in August. I have, during the year, preached 
124 sermons, and delivered 141 Temperance Lectures, and 1 
Lyceum lecture ; attended 3 funerals, and solemnized 5 mar- 
riages. Besides, I have spoken much in Conventions, and in 
debating meetings. My Temperance Lectures, being mostly on 
the License Law, have averaged at least one hour and a quarter ; 
making for the 141, I7C5 hours. My sermons, many of them 
having been m new places, and on sjDccial subjects, have aver- 
aged 40 minutes, making, for the 124, 82 hours and 40 minutes. 
Total, 259 hours speaking, in the sermons and lectures, besides 



280 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



the other connected services ; — making the amount of 43 days 
constant speaking, at six hours to the day. Yet I have not been 
prevented by indisposition from fulfilling all my numerous and 
multifarious engagements. I have the satisfaction to know that 
my humble labors for the cause of Temperance, and protective 
legislation, and also those for Gospel truth, have been well 
received ; and successful, by the blessing of God, to the promo- 
tion of good. ' Bless the Lord, O my soul.'" 

A. D. 1839. 
I continued my labors as in the past year. 

THE DEDICATION IN HOLLISTON. 

The Universalist Society in Ilolliston, Mass., having 
finished their new Meeting House, it was Dedicated in 
appropriate form on January Oth. Br. S. Cobb preached 
the sermon ; and Br. T. J. Greenwood offered the Dedica- 
tory Pra3^er. Br. Joseph O. Skinner, one of m}' theologi- 
cal students, was the Pastor of the society. 

BEFORE THE LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEE. 

In the last half of January, there was a protracted dis- 
cussion by adjournment from day to daj^, before a Special 
Joint Committee of the Legislature, of the Prohibitive Law 
for suppressing dram-shops. A Middlesex County Tem- 
perance convention, had appointed me as one of their Coun- 
sel to support the law before that Committee, to whom 
numerous petitions for the repeal of the law were referred. 
Benj. F. Hallett, Esq., conducted the opposition to the law, 
and Peleg Sprague, Esq., its defence. It devolved upon me 
to assist in the cross-questioning of the witnesses of the 
opposition, and the exposure of their misrepresentations. 



A, I). 1839. 



281 



Hon. Samuel A. Elliot, Mayor of Boston, was brought 
forward by Mr. Hallett as a witness, and testified that, in 
his opinion, the prohibitive law could not be enforced in 
this city. He was in favor of a license law. I put to him 
this question, with its preliminary : If two thousand per- 
sons in Boston wish to retail liquor, and you license one 
thousand only, seeing that, by your license S3''stem, you 
IDronounce the business to be right and good in itself, — 
will it not be more difficult to suppress the participation in 
it of the other thousand, than it would be to enforce an im- 
partial prohibitive law, suppressing the traffic alike with 
all ? He did not find it convenient to understand the ques- 
tion. 

With regard, however, to the fate of the prohibitive law 
in its then present form, through political entanglements 
its repeal was effected. 

THE LARGE ADDITION TO OUR WALTHAM 
SOCIETY. 

The old Territorial Parish in Waltham had been many 
years Unitarian. Their Meeting House was situated on a 
handsome green, a little back from the Village, north. A 
second Unitarian Society had been in operation several 
years, with a Meeting House centrally located on the Main 
Street. This February (1839), a majority of the old Par- 
ish united with the new, and commenced public worship 
with them in a new house on Church Street. Upon this 
event about twenty families of the old Parish, residing in 
the north-east part of the town, proposed and effected a 
union with the Universalist Society, and assisted them in 
the building of a convenient Church in tlie north-east part 
of the Village, within a short distance of the site of the old 
24* 



282 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.B. 



Church. This location of the Church was made a condi- 
tion, by the Traffalo people (for that District of the town 
was called Traffalo) , of their coming into this union ; and 
the gift of the site by Hon. Theodore L3'man was an addi- 
tional temptation to the Universalists to consent to the 
arrangement. And it operated advantageousl}^ to our cause 
for a few years. The Traffalo families added much to 
the size, support and interest of our meetings. But sev- 
eral years afterwards, and after I had removed from the 
place, the growth of the Village sat off westward, and this 
Church was so inconveniently away from the centre of pop- 
ulation, that a removal of the building for a better locality 
resulted in its loss to the society, and their suspension of 
operation for a few j^ears. 



MY OWN NEWSPAPER. 

This spring I commenced the publication of the religious 
and literary family newspaper, called " The Christian 
Freeman and Family Visiter." For me, under the cir- 
cumstances, it was a tremendous undertaking. I wonder 
that I had sufficient courage to undertake it. But the 
secret of the enterprise was faith. In my travels over the 
country, and the familiar acquaintance I had formed with 
the families of different denominations, I had observed the 
want of a weeklj^ paper in the patronage of the Universalist 
denomination, more considerably devoted, than any then in 
circulation, to interesting miscellany for the younger mem- 
bers of the families, and more decidedly committed to the 
moral reforms of the day, such as Anti-Slavery and Tem- 
perance. With this conviction, and the knowledge of the 
ardent wishes, in this direction, of numbers of influential 
lay brethren, I formed my purpose, laid my plan, purchased 



A. D. 1839. 



283 



the requisite printing apparatus, hired the chambers of Mr. 
Josiah Hastings' book store, installed Mr. George Jefts as 
the Foreman of the office ; and, on the 19th day of April, 
1839, issued No. 1, Vol. 1, of The Christian Freeman 
AND Family Visiter. 

With no experience at all in this line ; with no business 
' associate or partnership ; and with but little capital ; to 
undertake the whole concern alone, as Proprietor and 
Editor, it was a hazardous adventui'e. But I believed 
that I had this mission assigned to me of God, and that 
he would sustain and prosper me in it. And more than 
m}' highest hopes in it were realized. 

The elder representatives of the denominational press, 
Eev. T. Whittemore, of the Trumpet and Universalist Mag- 
azine^ Massachusetts ; Rev. Wm. A. Drew, of the Gos- 
pel Banner^ Maine ; and P. Price, Esq., of the Union, New 
York, all noble brethren, gave my bantling the cold shoul- 
der. This was not from their want of personal regard for 
me ; but from their fearful apprehension of harm to my- 
self, from a costly and unsuccessful effort ; and harm to 
the Universalist denomination, from the introduction of 
the exciting topics of Slavery and Temperance. But 
these apprehensions were removed in due time. And now, 
when a quarter of a centur}" has passed slwslj, our denom- 
inational x^ress is a unit in the bold and manly discussion 
of those then delicate subjects. 

MISS EDGAETON'S SALUTATION. 

Miss Sarah C. Edgarton, the popular author and 
poetess, afterwards Mrs. S. C. Mayo, on receiving my 
Prospectus, sent me for the first number of The Christian 



284 



REV, SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Freeman and Family Visiter, the following moral and lit- 
erary gera : 

THE CHRISTIAN FEEEMAN AND FAMILY VISITER. 

A Freeman! How the captive heart 

Throbs at the name of free ! 
How eagerly his chained feet start 

For home and Liberty ! 
He hears the sound of chainless fountains — 
The horn upon his native mountains ! 

He breathes the free untainted air, 

Then clanks his fetters in despair ! 

" I must be free ! I will be free ! 

Oh give me, give me Liberty ! " 

A Freeman ! Ask the toiling slave, 

What meaning in that name ! 
And he will point you to the wave — 

The air — the chainless flame — 
The young fawn bounding thro' the wildwood — 
The merry feet of laughing childhood ! 

He'll point to these — then turn away 

To wipe the silent tears that stray 

O'er cheeks, long strangers to the bliss 

Of wife's or infant's holy kiss. 

A Christian Freeman ! Son of God ! 

Can mortals follow Thee, 
And tread the path where Thou hast trod, 

Yet be aught else than/7-ee? 
Alas that Priestcraft — hateful demon ! 
Should weld her chains on Christian Freeman! 

Alas ! that sons of God should be 

Doomed to the curse of slavery ! 

Awake, ye captives ! join the band 

That herald Freedom through the land ! 

Hail to thee, " Christian Freeman ! " Hail ! 
Forth on thy mission speed ! 



A, D. 1839. 



285 



Dislodge the rivet and the nail, 

And heal the stripes that bleed ! 
Speed thee, ay speed thee on thy mission, 
To free the mind from base oppression ! 

Gird on thine armor for a fight, 

To bring the soul in robes of light 

Out from the dungeon of despair, 

To breathe the sweets of God's free air ! 

Nor this alone — 'Tis thine to steal, 

A " Visiter" to fireside groups — 
And, silently, to make them fed 

The worth of gospel hopes — 
To soothe the weary and afflicted — 
Eestrain the youth to vice addicted, 

And gently lead him back to truth ; 

For beautiful and sweet to youth 

Should virtue be — and fair the road 

That leadeth to the feet of God ! 

E. 

I made an arrangement \Yith J. N. Bang, printer, on 
Cornhill, Boston, to act as my Boston agent ; and, in the 
heading of the paper, I denoted it as Puhlished in Wal- 
tJiam and Boston.'' 

Soon after I embarked upon this laborions undertaking, 
Tvhich i^roved to be the distinctive business of twenty years 
of the prime of my life, I discontinued my Temperance 
Agency ; but continued, yet two years, while I remained a 
resident of Waltham, to supply the preaching for the Uni- 
Tersalist Societj^ in that town ; but I did this so much by 
way of exchanges and substitutes, as to be able to return 
to something like my old missionary labors over the coun- 
try, which afforded me the much needed opportunity of 
paying attention to the circulation of the Christian Free- 
man. 

end of autobiogiiaphy. 



THE MEMOIR. 



PKEPACE. 



I HAVE but little to say to the reader under this head. My 
work is finished, and I turn to tliis page at the beginning, to 
entreat that the result of my labor may be judged in the spirit 
of kindness and forbearance. I realized, when I took up my pen, 
that I had a difficult task before me — the task of wi'iting of the 
life of one whom I so deeply loved, without allowing that love 
to exert an undue influence in my estimate of the subject I had 
in hand. I have held steadily in view the one aim to state the 
facts as they were, and to draw only such deductions as those 
facts would legitimately warrant. It would have been a thing 
impossible with me to write of my father M'ithout betraying the 
emotions of a son ; but I believe in no instance have those emo- 
tions led me astray from the path which, as a faithful memoirist, 
I was bound to follow. 

Because I have used the first person singular" of the per- 
sonal pronoun the reader will not deem me egotistical. I found 
that stjde of presenting myself the most convenient. A sense of 
delicacy, over-nice, might have led me to follow the custom of 
many in using the editorial or such a phrase as ''tlie 

writer,'''' when I meant MYSELF; and, also, of speaking of " the 
25 289 



290 HEV, STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

subject of our sketch'''^ when I meant, MY father. But I have 
preferred to write as nearly as possible as I would have spoken, 
had I been telling the story of that life, by word of mouth, to a 
circle of listening friends. So I have used the pronoun "I," 
and written of " my father," moved by the feeling that I was, 
in truth, telling the story to my friends. 

Touching the subject matter of the work, I have no exten- 
uation to offer ; and the only favor I have to crave is, that you 
will read this Memoir with the faith that I have earnestly and 
prayerfully sought to present the picture of a life worthy of 
being studied and copied ; and that I have been cheered in my 
labor by the firm conviction that good would result from it. 
Trusting that I have not labored in vain, and that the lessons of 
life contained in these pages may be a source of blessing to my 
fellow men, I give the book to the public. 

SYLVANUS COBB, Jr. 

Norway^ Me., January lUh, 1867. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Dear Reader : — It is with mingled emotions of sadness 
and pleasure that I take my pen for the work before me. I 
would that it could have fallen to another hand to finish the 
life-story of my father ; but since the labor has devolved 
upon me I enter upon it most willingly, and will do what I 
can towards giving to the world a faithful record of the 
later days of Sylvanus Cobb. O ! if he could but have fin- 
ished the work himself! There were years of labor — 
years of toilsome strife in the great battle of Reform — 
which none can now picture as he could have done it. He 
had just reached, in his stor^^, that epoch of his life where 
he stepped forth into a new field of labor, and armed him- 
self for a crusade to which he was to give the best energies 
of body and mind, when his strength failed him, and his 
•pen dropped from his nerveless grasp never to be resumed 
again on earth. Vain wish ! He had written his last line ; 
the old familiar desk, where he had toiled so long, by day 
and by night, was closed upon the unfinished work, and it 
was told to me that I must finish it. But I do not sit down 
to the task unaided. She is with me who was my father's 
best earthly friend through life ; who watched all his in- 
goings and out-comings ; who bore with him and sustained 
him ; who shared all his labors ; and who held up his hands 

291 



292 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



and his heart in faith and love to the end. And then I 
have copious memoranda, in manuscript and in print, be- 
sides the minutes of those in various sections, who knew 
him well. I have felt, so far as my father's connection 
with the subject now in hand was concerned, that one of 
the sources of sad reflection in view of his death was, that 
he could not have been spared to finish the Autobiography^ ; 
or, that he had not commenced it at an earlier day, so that 
more could have been accomplished by his pen. But, upon 
reflection, I am willing to coincide with others of the house- 
hold. He left his work just in the right place. With his 
own pen he brought it down to the event of the publication 
of the Christian Freeman, and from that date nearly the 
whole record of his after life is in print, and I have onl}'- to 
cull from the printed pages what is proper and necessary 
to finish the story. In this light it really^ seems as though 
his strength was spared to the proper limit — as though 
the Great Father upheld his hand to the point where 
another could step in and take hold of the work understand- 
ingly. And then so far as the summing up of his character 
is concerned, and the presenting of those more delicate 
matters which have to do with the idiosyncrasies that were 
the source of his distinguishing virtues and his human 
weaknesses, it is certainly more fitting that another than 
himself should tell of them. And so, with but a simple 
application to the case of the balm of our glorious faith, I 
can still sincerely say, — " God doeth all things well." 

It may be said by some that a child is not competent to 
write a fair and impartial memoir of a parent. I do not 
see it in that light. I believe that no man could write of 
my father more impartially than I am prepared and deter- 
mined to do. I knew all his failings, for no one has had 
more occasion to mark them than I have had : and I can 



INTIWD UCTIOX. 



293 



say, as said Dr. Miner in his address on the occasion of the 
funeral. " His faults were manly faults." In short, I, 
who knew him well — who was closely connected with him 
in business during all those years when he was most sorely 
tried and perplexed — can truthfully declare that there was 
no act of his life which a proper respect for his memory 
would lead me to conceal. And I may say further, that 
his faults were such as brought him nearer to our hearts, 
in that they betrayed to us his need of sympathy and aid 
and love. A being all pure, entirely free from earthly 
weaknesses — a man perfect in thought, word, and action 

— would be so entirely above and beyond the need of 
friendly counsel and consideration, that we could onXy 
regard him with awe and veneration, yielding to him our 
profoundest respect, while we kept our warmer love and 
affection for those who were partakers with us in some of 
the imperfections to which humanity is heir. 

And, be it understood, I do not sit down to this work 
because I, as a child, wish to see the story of my father's 
life in print. Others have demanded that it should be 
written. The press, throughout the country, in noticing 
his death, has told to its readers that they would gain 
further knowledge of the man from the biography which 
would probably be written, thus advancing the idea that 
there was not only need, but expectation, of such a work. 
And the reader who has perused the Autobiography will 
admit that the life-story of the earlier years of Mr. Cobb 
comprises a history of the rise and progress of Universal- 
ism in different parts of New England. I, who had known 
so much of his early labors, had forgotten, if I ever knew, 
how many of the now flourishing societies of our denomi- 
nation were brought into existence under his ministrations 

— societies not only in his native State, but here in the 

25* 



294 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.D, 



vicinity of Boston, where the light of Liberal Christianity 
is so effulgent that many of the present generation seem 
inclined to think that it is a heritage derived from the 
Puritan Fathers, who, fleeing from the t^'rann}^ of the Old 
"World, sought them a home upon these then inhospitable 
shores, counting physical comfort and convenience as 
naught if it must be held at the expense of liberty, — stern, 
righteous men, who — 

" * * * shook the depths of the desert's gloom 

With hymns of lofty cheer, 
Amidst the storm they sang, 

And the stars heard, and the sea, 
And the sounding aisles of the dim woods rang 
* To the anthem of the Free. 

What sought they thus afar ? 
******* 

They sought a Faith's pure shrine ; 

Ay, call it holy ground, 
The spot where first they trod, — 
They have left unstained what here they found — 

Freedom to worship God.'* • 

I love to claim those bold, righteous, self-sacrificing men 
as the American Fathers ; and to them we are indebted for 
that stern fixedness to the principles of Right which has 
given tone and character to the noblest institutions of our 
country ; and to that love of liberty, and unswerving oppo- 
sition to tyranny and injustice, which they carefull}^ im- 
planted and nurtured in the bosoms of their children, are 
we indebted for the progressive spirit that stamps the New 
England mind. And we cannot forget that the subject of 
our memoir was of that old stock. On both his father*s 
and mother's side, as is shown in the opening chapter of 
the Autobiography, he was descended in a dii-ect line from 



INTR on UCTION. 



295 



those Puritan ancestors who were among the first to seek 
these shores for the purpose of establishing a civil and 
religious liberty which could not be enjoj^ed in the Mother 
Country. But when he was born into the world that 
" Religious Liberty " had become an institution so fixed 
and bounded within a dark and narrow creed that it 
afibrded but little scope to the cultivated, inquiring mind. 
From a principle of action it had come to consist of a set 
of dogmas and articles as binding upon the hearts and con- 
sciences of men as were ever the rules and fiats of the 
ecclesiastical power from which the early fathers had fled. 
The youth of that day did not enjoy the light that now 
floods the Christian field. Liberal Christianity, stepping 
forth upon the broad and comprehensive plane of " the 
Fatherhood of God, and the Brotherhood of Man," in those 
days shocked the Christian Church as with ague fits. The 
noble, loving heart, recognizing a brother in every human 
being, and hoping and praying for the final consummation 
foreshadowed in the mission of Christ, found no help or 
countenance in the creeds of the church. The philanthro- 
pist, laboring to raise men nearer to God and heaven 
through the natural impulses of their better natures, re- 
ceived the cold shoulder of the Evangelical priesthood. 
And the influence of the State, even, so far as it was given 
in a theological direction, entirely ignored everj^thing like 
progression in religious matters. 

No, no. my young friend of to-day. At the opening of 
this present century Liberal Christianity had little foothold 
in New England ; and it is well you should know to whom 
you are indebted for the grand flood of cheering light that 
now illumines the Christain household. I think I do not 
overstate the matter when I say, that no man has done 
more towards opening the hearts of men to the glorious 



296 



REV. SYLVANUS CGBB^ D.D. 



truths of the gospel of Reconcilication than has Sylvanus 
Cobb. All over this section of our countrj' are men now 
basking in the full light of a faith in Christ's redeeming 
plan and power who were led out from the darkness of 
Calvinism by his preaching ; and, as has been before 
stated, there are man}- flourishing societies and churches 
of our faith that owe their birth to him. Surel}^ the life 
of such a man is worth recording ; and I have the faith to 
believe that the record will be extensively read. 

But the labors of Mr. Cobb in the field of theolog}^, as 
the reader may have already discovered, were but a moiety 
of the work of his life. From his boyhood he had been an 
ardent and consistent advocate of Reform. When he first 
began to reason and reflect, he took note of the evils that 
lurked in social life, as well as of those evils that "cried 
aloud in public." He saw those whom he loved led into 
the waj^s of error and consequent disgrace and sufi'ering, 
and he sought to do awaj^ with the one, and alleviate the 
other. He marked with unerring judgment those evils 
which the great majority of his fellows failed to perceive, 
and at an early period he gave himself to the labor of aid- 
ing humanity in this direction. As he grew in years, and 
increased in knowledge, he discovered that there were evils 
in the government of his country which needed reforming ; 
and when once he had made up his mind that a certain 
course was Right, he was quick to follow it. Intemperance 
he abhorred from the day when first he knew what intem- 
perance was, and as his reason told him that dram- 
drinking was the cause thereof he opposed the habit in 
toto. His premises were simple and comprehensive : 
Rum-drinking did no good ; Rum-drinking did an incalcu- 
lable amount of mischief ; therefore, Rum-drinking was an 
evil that should be banished entirely. And at all proper 



INTRODUCTION. 



297 



times, and in all proper places, he was bold to raise his 
voice against it. 

By and by Mr. Cobb came to understand that the genius 
of our Democratic and Republican institutions was in direct 
opposition to the spirit of Chattel Slavery, and at an early 
day he identified himself with the then comparatively 
small, but intellectual and zealous, party in opposition to 
this national evil. He saw, and foretold, the dangers to 
the government in the upholding and spreading of Slavery, 
and he was bold to declare that the aegis of Liberty and 
Independence should rest upon all who trod American soil. 

But he went further than this. He believed that the 
pure spirit of Christianity was opposed to these evils, and 
that it became the duty of the Christian minister, devolving 
upon him by virtue of, his office, to cry aloud against them. 
While Intemperance was a powerful instrumentality, work- 
ing to destroy both soul and body, and tending directly to 
lead men away from the fold of Jesus, it surely belonged 
to the pulpit to do battle against it. And while Slavery was 
not only degrading the children of men, and leading to 
sins so corrupt that the heart of humanity stood appalled 
thereat, but shutting up the word of God to millions of our 
fellow beings, it did seem to him to come within the legit- 
imate province of the Christian minister to speak out 
boldly and manfully against the sin ; and if the sin had 
become the heritage of a nation, then the more need was 
there for honest, liberty-loving teachers to set manfully 
about the work of reform. 

And, further still : Mr. Cobb believed that if any body 
of Christians owed it to their cause to identify themselves 
with the reform movements, surely the Universalist denom- 
ination rested under that obligation. Theirs was a doc- 
trine of Love and Good Will to all mankind. They 



298 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



believed that all men, Avithout regard to caste or color, 
were brethren, and all partakers of the rich inheritance 
vouchsafed through Christ the Saviour. How could a Uni- 
versalist uphold Slavery ? How could a Universalist min- 
ister, by his silence, appear to give countenance to the 
dreadful evil? 

It was at this point that Mr. Cobb commenced that 
labor which, after all, should be regarded as the triumph 
of his life. His early preaching of Universalism in local- 
ities where the light of the blessed faith had never been 
shed was a joy and a privilege, not only to himself, but to 
hundreds who heard ; and he was eagerly listened to by 
those who sought the truth. He there went into places of 
darkness with the effulgence of redeeming love and grace, 
and led people up out from ignorance and error into the 
possession and enjoyment of true religion. He encoun- 
tered no opposition from friends, and his labor was grate- 
ful and inspiring. His only opponents were those who 
openly opposed his sj^stem of faith, and against them he 
was armed with the whole weight of gospel evidence. It 
was a pleasant task to meet in the battle of debate the 
enemies of God's loving kindness towards all his children ; 
and his soul thirsted for contact in argument with those 
who denied the pov/er of Jesus Christ to consummate the 
work which the Father had given him to do. In that labor 
he had no half-way friends — none who were willing to 
admit the justice of his claims, but unwilling to hear them 
presented — none who acknowledged the truth of his prem- 
ises, but feared its promulgation. There were no divis- 
ions in the household of faith ; but all worked together for 
the upbuilding of the temple, acknowledging one Master, 
and making duty a pleasure, and labor a joy. 

But he found a vastly different state of things when he 



INTRODUCTION. 



299 



entered upon the new field of labor. He had planned that 
he would, so far as he was able, identify the Universalist 
denomination, as a great moral and religious power, with 
the needed reforms of the day, and more especially with 
the Temperance and Anti-Slavery reforms. As I have 
already stated, his own heart was given to the work, and 
he desired much to see the denomination which he loved, 
and to the upbuilding of which he had given so much of 
his time and energies, lend its influence in the same direc- 
tion. To this end he established " The Christian Free- 
man AND Family Visiter," and sent his prospectus forth to 
the world. How well do.l remember the reception it met 
at the hands of the ministering brethren, and more partic- 
ularly at the hands of those who were already engaged in 
the work of publishing denominational periodicals. Direct 
opposition came from some quarters, while nearly all 
turned the " cold shoulder upon his bantling." All pro- 
fessed to be his friends, and many who looked coldly upon 
his effort were his friends ; and those who most bitterly 
opposed him declared that they wished him all sorts of 
success, though they feared it would be otherwise. Some 
of the ministering brethren upon whom he had counted for 
cooperation and assistance were afraid to show their hands 
in the work. They were friendly to the cause of Tem- 
perance, and they believed that Slavery was a giant wrong 
that ought to be abolished ; and, furthermore, they appre- 
ciated the moral courage and devotion which led to the 
conception and establishment of the " Christian Freeman ; " 
but they feared that the introduction of those exciting 
topics into the Universalist press and pulpit would work 
mischief to the denominational body. In vain did the 
intrepid publisher plead that Right must prosper, and that 
wrong must crumble and fall ; and in vain did he argue 



300 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



that that body or Society which would have countenance 
of God must stand out in the world as champion of the 
Right and opposer of the Wrong. " The people are not 
prepared," said the timid ones. " Then let us prepare 
them," answered the editor through his Freeman. " But 
such an attempt will produce dissension in the church," 
plead the fearful friends. " Such dissension will be but 
as the working of the leaven," was the editor's answer. 
" Those who cannot put on the whole armor of Christ 
should not be allowed to hold the hands and seal the lips 
of the true Christian warrior." 

However, Mr. Cobb had laid his plans, and he was not 
the man to turn back in his work because some of his friends 
failed him in the hour of need. It had thus far been a rule 
of his life, as fixed as were the laws of the Medes and Per- 
sians, that what his hands found to do in the direction of 
Right and Justice, he would do at all hazards. This was 
one of the distinguishing traits of his character, about 
which I shall have more to say hereafter. He went on 
with his work, relying upon God for strength and support, 
and we have seen the end. One after another of the min- 
istering brethren stepped forth into the field, and the time 
came when the good man saw his highest anticipations more 
than realized. It came that other Universalist papers 
spoke out boldly in behalf of Temperance, though upon the 
subject of Anti-Slavery they were more reticent. This lat- 
ter reform chanced to tread somewhat heavily upon the 
corns and bunions of an old and egotistical political party, 
and few were the publishers of religious periodicals in those 
days who dared even to admit a discussion of the subject 
into their columns, much less to speak out publicly them- 
selves ; and it was a long time before even a respectable 



INTR OD UCTION. 



301 



majority of our ministers dared to lift their voices in the 
pulpit in behalf of an enslaved and down-trodden race. 

In speaking of the establishment of his paper Mr. Cobb 
says, — "I believed that I had this mission assigned to me 
of God, and that he would sustain and prosper me in it. 
And," he adds, "more than my highest hopes in it were 
realized." 

Never were words more true if we count the success of 
the mission in its results to the w^orld of humanity. But, 
so far as that success is concerned for which most meu 
labor, we might term the result of the mission a failure. 
It impoverished him, and kept him poor and harassed all 
the rest of his days. It added not a penny of treasure to 
his purse, but swallowed up everything of money he could 
gain from other sources. His days and nights of unremit- 
ting toil wore down his powerful frame, and sapped the 
foundations of a constitution such as few men are blessed 
with. And w^hat was his return for all this ? It was the 
return of a success more holy and precious than the pos- 
session of material wealth. He lived to see one after 
another of the religious papers wheel into the line of Re- 
form, and devote a part of their space to the promulgation 
of other moral and social truths than those of theology. 
He lived to see the denomination to which he belonged 
identify itself so thoroughly with the cause of Temperance, 
and with the cause of Anti-Slavery, that a Universalist 
minister who did not plant himself squarely and openly 
upon the platform of God's Law in social and political 
affairs, would have been as much out of place as w^ould be 
the commanding generals of an army, while a battle was 
raging, skulking in the hospital and commissary store. 

And what farther did he live to see ? What further re- 
ward had he for the labors of the last quarter of a century 
26 



302 



REV, SYLVAN US COBB, D.7). 



of his life? He lived to see it all developed as be had 
foretold in the other j^ears. The giant wrong had strode 
on, permitted by the people to put its sacrilegious hand 
upon our most sacred institutions, and to point the mur- 
derous steel to the very heart of the nation. And he lived 
to see this monster wrong crushed out forever ; the shackles 
broken from the limbs of the slave ever3^where within our 
broad domain ; the infamous law of Might over Right 
stricken from the statute book ; and Liberty proclaimed 
throughout the leugth and breadth of the land ! 

Surely, he could with truth exclaim, when speaking of 
his noble mission, — "More than my highest hopes in it 
were realized." 

And it devolves upon me to lay before the reader the 
events of Mr. Cobb's life during the years of his labor in 
this field. I must needs tell the story briefly ; and I will 
be true and faithful to the record. 



THE MEMOIR. 



CHAPTER I. A. D. 1839. 

The New House, — Plans for the Future, — Business 
Perplexities, Characteristics, &c. 

The last pages of the Autobiography were written in the 
month of September, 1866. Mr. Cobb had been able, dur- 
ing the Summer, to take his pen once in a while and devote 
brief periods — say, from fifteen minutes to half an hour — 
to the work in hand ; but he could not do much. His 
nerves had become so shattered, and his general system so 
weak, that his physicians had forbidden any extended men- 
tal efibrt ; but it was impossible for him to keep his mind 
from the subject of his life-story, and it came very hard 
for him to be shut away from his desk ; so he stole out into 
his study occasionally and grasped the old familiar pen ; 
but the hand and the head soon wearied, and his sittings 
were very short. 

On the first day of October, having business of impor- 
tance in that direction, and entertaining the hope that the 
trip might do him good, he went, with his wife, to New 
York. After his return home he went to his desk and put 
his pen to the work once more, — I believe only once. His 
manuscript was in small bound books, not much larger 
than the copy-books that are used in our common schools, 



304 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



and skipping several blank pages from where he had writ- 
ten the two paragraphs following Miss Edgarton's poem, 
and which were the last of his connected sentences, I find 
what he wrote on that occasion. It is in a cramped, trem- 
ulous hand, betraying pain and unrest, the chirography 
showing plainly that the body was weak, while its discon- 
nection from the rest of the work would seem to indicate 
that his mind could only grasp familiar fragments of the 
story, fixed in his memory by the startling character of 
their associations. And this was what he wrote : — 

"THE NEW HOUSE. 

" In the spring of this year (1839) 1 purchased twelve acres 
of land of Jacob Farwell, on Church Street, for a kitchen garden, 
and pasturing and mowing for a horse and cow ; and during the 
year built upon it a pleasant house for ni}^ family residence, into 
which we moved in the Fall. I have said before that I had a 
penchant for building, and living in, a house of my own. I 
planned all my houses for myself, always giving special atten- 
tion to the women's great chemical laboratory, the kitchen — its 
structure, its location relative to the other rooms, and to a con- 
venient sujDply of wood and water ; and to the pleasantness and 
healthiness of sleeping-rooms." 

And there his pen was laid aside. What would have 
been his story of the " Neav House " I cannot tell ; but I 
am sure it would have been far different from the story I 
shall tell. He never would have referred to the painful and 
vexatious trials which that house cost him, while I shall 
make no secret of the truth. He built the house, as he did 
all things in his lifetime, for the good of others. For the 
sake of his large family he shouldered the burden, and bore 
it while he could. He had been living in a bulky, double 
house on the main street, which he rented of the manufac- 
turing corporation ; the apartments of which were so abom- 



/ 



THE MEMOIR. 305 

inably arranged that the labor of the housewife was per- 
plexingly and painfully augmented ; and the situation of 
which directly in the centre of the busy village, was very 
unfavorable to the running at large of his younger children. 
For the sake of his family he wished a more comfortable 
and convenient home ; and he was determined that they 
should have it ; and to this end he purchased the land of 
Mr. Farwell, and erected his dwelling. 

No man had a more clear and comprehensive view of the 
general principles and possibilities of business than had 
he ; and there were very few men, if any, who were better 
qualified to give advice to young men just starting out 
into the business world ; but when he came to do business 
for himself upon a more extended scale than he had been 
used to — when he entered upon business that required 
financial tact and judgment — he failed to grasp and prop- 
erly estimate a thousand-and-one minutiae upon the care 
and disposition of which the success of all business enter- 
prises must rest, from the highest to the lowest. His hope 
and faith were unbounded ; and as he started all his 
projects in a spirit of love and good will to others than 
himself, how natural it was that he should cherish the 
belief that " all would come out right in the end." He 
thought he could see this happy consummation of events 
in the very nature and necessity of the work he had laid 
out. Let it not be for a moment supposed that Mr. Cobb 
had ever a disposition to trust things of importance to 
chance. No, — he was alwaj^s very particular in la3dng it 
down as a rule of life that men must labor diligently for 
those blessings, both temporal and spiritual, which they 
would enjoy. What I mean is, that his great Hope led 
him to place too much reliance upon what ought to he; and 
he laid down grand plans in the abstract, sure that they 
26* 



306 



BEV. SYLVANUS COHB, u.D. 



were right and proper, and went at work upon them with 
the faith that he should be able to meet and successfully 
dispose of minor exigencies as they arose. Thus far in 
life, keeping himself within the bounds of the ordinary 
business transactions necessary to his profession as a 
religious and moral teacher, he had been blessed with a 
success equal to his most ardent desires ; for I know that 
it never entered into his heart to make money for the sake 
of seeing the golden pile grow in his coffers. His desires 
were moderate ; and I am able to distinctly state what 
were the themes of his ambition : They were. First, — The 
peace and happiness and prosperity of those whom he 
loved, and who were dependent upon him ; and, Second, — 
That social, moral, and religious elevation of society which 
was to result from the perfect understanding of God's 
Gospel Purpose as revealed through Jesus Christ, and a 
spreading, and adoption by the people, of the principles of 
Temperance and Human Freedom. Upon these themes he 
contemplated, and by the dictates derived therefrom he 
regulated his life and actions. He gave the whole strength 
of soul and body to the work thus set for him to do ; and 
his labor was as tireless and faithful as his judgment had 
been right and just. 

This may seem like digression ; but I could not go on to 
speak of the " New House " without being prepared to tell 
the whole truth ; and I could not, in justice to the truly 
great and good man, make a plain statement of all the 
facts without first preparing the mind of the reader to 
receive them understandingly. 

The house in Waltham was the first venture of his life 
which involved the assumption of any considerable debt. 
When he moved from Maiden he was the possessor of a 
sum of money which, in the light of his simple, unassum- 



THE MEMOIR. 



307 



ing habits, rendered him in a measure independent, — not 
independent of work, but independent of want and debt 
while his health was spared. The man of wealth would 
smile at the idea of importance given to that trivial sum ; 
and many a merchant in Boston derives of profit from his 
business every day a sum equal to that which made Sylva- 
nus Cobb feel rich and proud when it was entirely his, and 
he owed no man anything therefrom. 

When Mr. Cobb started his paper he paid cash for every- 
thing he bought ; and let it be borne in mind that he had 
full faith that ere long the bread thus cast upon the waters 
would return to him. He expected to labor and to wait, 
and he was prepared for trial and tribulation. He knew 
that the paper-maker would have to be paid from week to 
week, and that those who worked in the office must have 
their daily bread ; and to meet these wants he travelled 
much over the country, lecturing and preaching, and at the 
same time getting subscribers to his paper. Of the money 
he had on hand at the beginning of his enterprise he set 
apart a few hundred dollars for the new house, so that he 
was called upon to feel a stringency in the financial depart- 
ment of his publishing business sooner than he might 
otherwise have done ; and when this came, of course it 
could not be long before the business of building was beset 
by the same evil. 

In justice to my father I ought here to state that he 
would not probably have commenced his house as he did if 
his friend Farwell had not made him a present of the 
building-lot and garden spot. So much of land was given 
to him, and after that he purchased twelve acres, adjoining, 
of the same party. And, even now, when he began to feel 
the pressure at his publishing office, it is doubtful if he 
would have gone on with his building had he not supposed 



308 



REV. SYLVAKUS COBB, D.D. 



that lie could make some turn of his extra land to ad- 
vantage. In fact, I am sure he had brought himself to 
believe that the land he had bought was going to pay all 
expenses, and leave him something beside. He knew that 
the towns round about Boston were destined to grow, and 
there was no town which at that time gave indications of 
more rapid growth than did Waltham. He had selected 
the twelve acres with this idea in mind, and he congratu- 
lated himself that he had secured a grand chance for help- 
ing himself and his family to a home without cramping 
him in another quarter. He made a critical survey of his 
newl}^ acquired territory, and traced a rough draught upon 
paper. There were streets to be opened through, and thus 
were to be developed some of the most eligible building- 
lots for dwellings in the town. There would be a choice 
lot for each of his children, with room for a house and a 
suflScient kitchen garden ; and beyond that there would be 
left enough for sale to other parties to return a snug little 
sum over and above all that he would be required to 
expend. 

How well I remember the proud and happy light that 
beamed upon the good man's face when he took Samuel T. 
and myself out, with his draught in his hand, to present to 
us the details of his plan, and discuss their merits. We 
stood upon an eminence overlooking the twelve-acre lot, 
and our father showed to us where our houses were to be 
erected, and where the other children were to have homes. 
He explained to us how desirable those building-lots would 
be as soon as he had laid out broad and commodious 
streets, with shade trees planted at proper intervals by the 
wayside, and we might depend upon it that ere loug — 
perhaps in a very few years — there would be a pretty, 
thriving village upon his land. What a glorious thing it 



THE MEMOIR. 



309 



would be to have bis children grow up and settle around 
him, and be able to establish them in life ! He fondly 
hoped that his paper would eventually make business 
enough for all his sons ; and no patriarch of olden time 
ever realized a more peaceful and happy gathering in of 
children and of children's children to contiguous homes in 
the promised land, than was pictured at that time in the 
bright hopefulness of this provident and tender-hearted 
father. 

The house was built after designs furnished by Mr. 
Cobb, and when completed it was, as he had intended it 
should be, a model of convenience and simple architectural 
beauty. There was not a dollar expended for outside 
show, but all was appropriated to the comfort and well- 
being of the inmates. It was finished thoroughly through- 
out, and no expense was spared in making it such a home 
as he desired for himself and family. 

And for some time he held to the hopes which had made 
bright with promise his opening labors upon that home. 
After he had moved into the new dwelling he still for a 
season went on with a more thorough draughting of plans 
for the establishment of his colony, being very unwilling 
to give up the idea that the land was yet to yield him some 
return of the money he had expended. But his hopes were 
vain ; and his plans, if ever carried out, were left to others 
with their benefits. His paper, instead of yielding any in- 
come towards paying for the house, required every dollar 
he could raise for its support, and ere long he began to feel 
the weight of troubles and perplexities that were to bear 
sorely upon him for many j^ears. To meet his pecuniary 
liabilities, and at the same time to uphold and maintain the 
paper which he had determined to make an evangel to those 
who dwelt in darkness and in bonds, he commenced that 



310 



EEV. STLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



sj'stem of labor which was in the end to break down his 
herculean frame, and to make him old before his time. For, 
with such a constitution as he inherited, guarded as it was 
by a life-long total abstinence from all stimulants and 
narcotics, and with the natural tendency of the system to 
health and longevity,* he should have been still in his 
prime at the age of three-score-and-ten ; or, at all events, 
he should have been hale and hearty, and in the full enjo}"- 
ment of all the faculties of life ; and so he would have been 
but for these needs and perplexities which led him to task 
himself with labor such as no mortal organization can bear. 

At the opening of this chapter I said that my father 
would have told the story of the " New House" differentl}^ 
from what I should tell it, — that he would never have 
referred to the painful and vexatious trials which that 
house cost him. And he never was wont to refer to them 
at all. He never brought his trials home with him. In the 
bosom of his famil}" he never tolciof his troubles. If there 
were clouds upon him, he suffered them not to cast gloom 
over the household ; so that one not associated with him in 
business might have been an inmate of his home for j-ears 
and never have discovered that his business entailed upon 
him else than pleasure and satisfaction. He was always 
sure to bring home with him, and to tell it with beaming 
face, every scrap and item of cheering intelligence ; and so 
he was anxious to share with his family all the joys and 
comforts he could command ; — but ncAxr, to my knowl- 
edge, did he knowingl}^ give his loved ones to see that he 

* Longevity forms a characteristic chapter in the history of ilr. Cobb's ances- 
tors. Among others of his immediate relations who lived to an advanced age, 
was Ebenezer Cobb, born in Plymouth, in 1694, and died in Kingston, in 1801, at 
the age of one hundred and seven years. 



THE MEMOIR. 



311 



had any cause for pain and unrest, either in business dis- 
appointments, or in apprehensions for the future. 

I know that Mr. Cobb struck his first blow upon that 
twelve-acre lot with visions of bright promise opening be- 
fore him ; but I think I may safely say that never was a 
heavier burden cast from his shoulders than when he finally 
sold the " New House in Waltham." 



312 



REV, SYLVANUS COBB, D,D. 



CHAPTER II. 

The Slave Power, — The Christian Freeman, — Its 
Prospectus, — Salutatory. 

People living in the enjoyment of blessings which thej^ 
have had no hand in bringing about are very apt to under- 
estimate the labors of those through whose instrumentality 
such blessings have been giA^en to the world. People of 
the coming generation, basking in the full light of Human 
Liberty, vrill be slow to believe that even in the middle of 
the nineteenth century the press and pulpit of these Free 
States, with few exceptions, rested to such an extent be- 
neath the influence of the Slave Power that they dared not 
give utterance to anything like denunciation of that giant 
wrong ; while most of our secular periodicals, and many of 
our Christian clergymen, dared not even breathe a word 
against the foul institution in any way or manner. Whj", 
even now, when the smoke of the conflict has hardly been 
lifted from the scene, there are thousands of honest, intelli- 
gent men in our land who do not fully comprehend how 
completely the spirit of Slaverj^ had muzzled the sources 
of general information, and moral and social instruction, 
which they took to their homes for the entertainment and 
edification of themselves and families. Not only were the 
republications by American houses of foreign works sadly 
mutilated b}^ expunging, or altering, passages that chanced 
to bear upon chattel Slavery ; but our own authors found 



THE MEMOIR. 



813 



themselves often painfully tripped by the fear on the part 
of publishers of offending pro-slavery patrons. 

So now, when nearly every newspaper in the North 
grows jubilant over the privilege of bestowing vigorous and 
hearty kicks upon the dead carcass of Slavery, we must 
not forget that less than ten years have passed since a 
majority of those same papers did not dare to look the 
monster in the face. 

Thus much by way of introduction to the subject of Mr. 
Cobb's labor in the publication of the " Christian Freeman 
AND Family Visiter." 

In the Prospectus for his paper, he states that it will be 
devoted to " Religion, Literature, News, and Universal 
Freedom," and after stating what will be the character of 
its religious teachings, &c., he proceeds, as follows, to give 
those features which will distinguish his paper from other 
denominational publications : — 

"Attention will also be given to the aid of the Temperance 
Reform, and the loosing of the bonds of our brethren in slavery. 
And the rule for conducting the whole, shall be that charity, 
which * suflfereth long and is kind,' which ' rejoiceth not in in- 
iquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.' 

"As to the need of such a paper, the public may be assured 
that I should not have undertaken its publication, but in the 
sober conviction that it is called for by the wants of the commu- 
nity. We have papers devoted to the dissemination of our relig- 
ious views, and ably conducted. But their editors choose so to 
conduct them as to gain and continue their admission, bearing 
our doctrines of faith, into those states and families whose preju- 
dices would exclude them if they devoted earnest and persever- 
ing labor to the causes of Temperance and Universal Freedom. 
I cast upon them no censures ; — I wish them God-speed in their 
Christian labors as far as they see fit to carry them. It is my 
purpose to supply a desideratum in our religious denomination, 
a public journal which, while it shall co-operate with others in 
* contending earnestly for the faith which was once delivered to 
27 



314 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the saints,' shall furthermore carry out the principles of this faith 
in their bearing upon the interests and duties of all our relations, 
in the family, in society, in the state, and in the world. It is 
my design to contribute faithful endeavors to promote the cul- 
ture of that spirit in the Universalist fraternity, which shall more 
and more conform us to what we should be, as a body of Chris- 
tians, distinguished as believers in the God of universal active 
benevolence, and Jesus the efficient Saviour, who labored and suf- 
fered reproach, and laid down his life, for the cause of universal 
love, emancipation and peace." 

This Pi'ospectus was issued on the 24th of February, 
nearly two months before the appearance of the first num- 
ber of the paper, and it was widely circulated, and vari- 
ously commented upon; and some of the brethi^en, before 
they had seen the Freeman itself, began to " throw cold 
water " upon the concern ; while others, who had long felt 
the need of a denominational publication, in the columns 
of which could be discussed all the great reform movements 
of the age, hailed its prospective advent with joy ; and 
these words of cheer, coming from men of refinement and 
moral worth, gave strength to the workman as he pursued 
his great and arduous undertaking. 

But he had some true and tried friends — - friends who 
had stood by him in the years that were passed, and who 
continued to stand by him while he lived, — who opposed 
the introduction of " tJiose exciting topics '* into his paper. 
One man — one who was held very near to his heart, and 
upon whom he had depended much for encouragement and 
support, — wrote to him a letter on the occasion. He 
meant to take the paper, and he would do what he could to 
circulate it among his neighbors ; "For," he wrote, " I am 
satisfied that you are the man to print Universalism, as you 
have been the man to preach it. But," he adds, " I am 
sorry you could not make up your mind to give us a good 



THE MEMOIR. 



315 



TJniversalist paper without meddling with Rum and Nig- 
gers ! " 

Upon such a missive from some men Mr. Cobb would 
simply have smiled ; but in the morning of his enterprise, 
when, if ever, he needed the sympathy of his friends as 
well as their cooperation, such things, from such a source, 
gave him pain ; and yet, at the same time, they gave him 
strength ; for they called into exercise that spirit of perse- 
verance and energy without which success is not to be at- 
tained. To such men he meant to show that he was on the 
side of Right, trusting that in due time they would see and 
acknowledge the justness of his position. 

The first number of the Christian Freeman was issued 
on the 19th of April, 1839, and as the " Editorial Saluta- 
tory'' presents in a clear and concise form the motives 
which actuated him in the publication, and the principles 
upon which he proposed to pursue the work, I will give it 
entire : — 

"EDITORIAL SALUTATORY. 

" We salute the Christian public with good wishes, and proffer 
them fraternal counsel, and kind instruction. We present them 
with a new weekly periodical, which shall stand forth among 
them a true Christian Freeman, and a good Family Visiter. May 
God aid and bless us in our long contemplated and arduous 
undertaking. 

" Yes, reader, this is a long contemplated undertaking. In 
the service of a public Temperance Agency for the last two 
years and a half, we have been led to observe and ponder many 
circumstances which have impressed us strongly with the need 
of such a publication as this is designed to be ; a publication 
working in the same gospel field with many others, yet differing 
in its plan of operation from all other periodicals, and especially 
from all that are published in this part of New England. 

"When we engaged as a public lecturer for the Middlesex 
County Temperance Society, it was predicted by some of our 



316 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



kind and well beloved brethren, that this service would diminish 
our interest in the gospel, and in the work of the Christian min- 
istry. We then felt that they knew not what they said ; and now 
we know it. The more the servant of Christ imitates his Master 
in going about, observing the blindness, the wants, and the suf- 
ferings of mankind, and doing good as opportunity offers, the 
more he will feel engaged in all those great and good principles 
of truth, which shall promote virtue and happiness. 

" Of these principles the gospel stands pre-eminent. Indeed 
the Christian religion comprises all that is excellent in faith and 
practice. Its faith, the faith which rests in the infinite wisdom, 
goodness, and power of God, and nourishes the hope, sweet, 
soul-satisfying hope, of the universal emancipation and glory of 
the human race through Jesus Christ, is peculiarly fitted to 
elevate and reconcile the mind to God, and to produce the love 
of God and holiness. If we forget this faith, or neglect to 
propagate and defend it, let our right hand forget its cunning. 
It shall be borne by this Family Visiter to the abodes of all our 
readers, and applied in its adaptedness to work the reconcilia- 
tion and comfort of the mind under every earthly circumstance. 

"But the Christian religion does not alone apply to our hope 
for ourselves, and others, beyond the grave. It ai^plies to the 
infinite variety of duties and interests of our present diversified 
relations. And to the nature of some of these relations, and the 
manner of some of these interests, and the verity of some of 
these duties, the prejudices, passions, and supposed interests of 
many may blind them, while they can stoutly argue, and may 
even quite feelingly believe, the leading doctrines of the Chris- 
tian faith. And in respect to this point, our travels and labors 
have brought us in the way of such observation, as has often told 
us of the need of a public journal, which should go forth as a 
Christian Freeman, laboring not only to convert unbelievers, but 
also to remove remaining darkness from the minds of believers, 
in any and every case where they are blindly or inconsiderately 
giving their influence to per^Dctuate the causes of reigning evils, 

'* 'Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,' 
is the language of the Saviour. It will make us not only free 
from the slavish fear of human creeds, but free also to do good. 
* To do good and to communicate, forget not,' is the admonition 
of the Christian apostle. If we may excuse ourselves from this 



THE 3IEM0IR. 



317 



duty in one plain obvious case, we may in another, and have no 
fixed principle of moral right. If we see a custom, a mode of 
action prevailing, Avhich is spreading crime, poverty and wretch- 
edness around, and stands as a cruel TysipTione, threatening to 
be the tormentor of our own children, and we may withhold all 
eltort to reform such custom, because the prejudices of some of 
our brethren are against the discussion of the subject, then we 
may see false religious doctrines crushing and stretching thou- 
sands of minds upon the torture rack, and withhold all effort to 
remove the cause of this misery by the ministry of truth, because 
the prejudices of some will cling to their errors. The Univer- 
salist who will neglect, in any obvious case, ' to do good and to 
communicate,' because certain others see not eye to eye with 
him, gives practical sanction to the precise principle of action 
which he so loudly denounces in others, who make it their rule 
in matters of religious faith to ask, not 'what is truth?' but 
' what will secure me favor with the popular voice ?' 

"But our brother tells us that he should like the plan of our 
Family Visiter, if we would exclude all matter touching the 
subject of slavery. Then he would have us doff our caption, 
' Christian Freeman.'' God forbid that we should do it. For us 
to preach, and pray, and sing praises to God, upon the theme of 
that blessed gospel which we prize above earthly riches, the 
gospel of Him who lived, and labored, and died, and reigns on 
high for all, — for Jews and barbarians, bond and free ; the gos- 
pel which teaches us that God is the Father of all, and that all 
we are brethren ; and yet for us at the same time to look upon a 
portion of our brethren, in our own country, held as cattle, as 
goods and chattels, the property of others, where knowledge is 
danger, and ignorance is the only hope of safety, — and here to 
insist that not a word must be spoken, not a thought indulged, 
not an inquiry breathed, whether some means may not be 
devised, some moral influence put in motion, which shall melior- 
ate the condition of these poor, unfortunate, unhumanized fel- 
low beings, — this does indeed to us seem monstrous. If our 
brother can persevere in his efforts to smother investigation, and 
to foster slavery as an undisturbed institution, until it shall break 
forth in horrible destruction upon its proprietors, with their wives 
and innocent little ones, — and yet feel that he can lift up holy 
27* 



318 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



hands, and pray God to prosper him in these efforts, he is to us 
an insolvable enigma. 

" But when we speak of Christian freedom, none will take us 
to mean by freedom, licentiousness or rashness. We look with 
no favor upon the habit of one's rushing forth like Jehu to show 
his zeal for the Lord. We would not hastily catch up any spec- 
ulation which might come at hand in this age of invention, and 
blaze out in censoriousness and denunciation against those who 
run not so fast, nor so heedlessly. Nor would we be regardless 
of time, and occasion, and means, for promoting what we con- 
scientiously deem it our duty to promote as truth, upon long and 
mature investigation. But we would, and we must, calmly, 
dispassionately, and fearlessly investigate, — 'prove all things, 
and hold fast that which is good.' And while we would delib- 
erately inquire for the best mode of communication, we must 
'not forget to do good, and to communicate.' And he who 
would deprive us of the privilege of devoting kind, faithful labor 
to the elevation of public sentiment on the subject of the rights 
of man on the one side, and the duty of man on the other, is 
about the same work that certain in all ages have been engaged 
in, who have striven to suppress inquiry, and stay the progress of 
light. AVill he say that the investigation of this subject will do 
harm, by creating divisions, and breaking friendships ? They 
who, by any means, by menace, denunciation, excommunication, 
prison or gibbet, have opposed inquiry, have urged the same plea. 
The obnoxious investigation will break up order, and injure 
society, and therefore it must be put down. 

"If we and our brother agree on the leading principles of the 
Christian faith, and yet differ on the propriety of endeavoring to 
bring all classes of our brethren into a condition in which they 
may become sharers in the liberty of the children of God — then 
on this latter subject we are already divided in opinion. Shall 
we, therefore, be divided in respect to those matters wherein we 
agree ? If so, the division must be by him. We will go with 
him as a faithful workfellow, in all those good matters where- 
upon we can Avork together, and if he will turn off, let him not 
charge us with making division. But it would be pleasant to be 
agreed in all things. How then shall this agreement be brought 
about? By either brother's requiring the other to suppress 
investigation, sacrifice his conscience, and hide his light, or his 



THE MEMOIR. 



319 



supposed light, under a bushel ? Never. We must be kindly 
disposed towards each other, respect each other's right of con- 
science, and reason together. If we are right, and our brother 
is wrong, we want candid investigation, that he may agree with 
us. If he is right, and we are wrong, we need investigation, 
that his better reasons may bring us into agreement with him. 
Come, let us be, not lawless disorganizers, but Christian free- 
men. 

"But our brother asks us what we in the non-slaveholding 
States can do to promote the abolition of slavery in the South. 
We are glad that he has put this question ; for hitherto he has 
objected to our meddling with this subject. But now, as he 
would not be so unfair as to ask us a question he would not per- 
mit us to answer, we must conclude that he has come to regard 
and treat this subject as worthy of consideration. And if he 
will read our humble sheet from week to week, we will endeavor 
to give him some light on this, together with other important 
topics. 

"In concluding this protracted Address, we will add, in 
respect to the need of a paper on the plan here presented, that 
we have believed that it will be useful, in the present advanced 
state of our denomination, to issue a family paper which shall 
present from week to week, with a portion of religious reading, 
the most essential news of the day, and interesting and instruc- 
tive matter on a variety of important subjects. We will en- 
deavor, by our faithful diligence and attention, to deserve a 
reasonable share of the public patronage." 

And after the plan here laid down Mr. Cobb pursued his 
labors. He had started his paper with especial objects in 
view ; be had carefully considered the end he aimed at ; 
and in his after course there was no deviation. There is 
no need that I should burden these pages with reproduc- 
tions of what he wrote and printed upon the various topics 
that claimed his particular attention ; but before closing 
this chapter I must give one extract which shows in a brief 
space how he was inclined to treat the subject of Slavery ; 
and at this late day, when the positions which he then 



320 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



assumed are conceded by every right-thinking man and true 
lover of his country, it seems surprising that enlightened 
Christian teachers could then have taken exceptions to 
them. 

This is the article to which I refer, published in the sec- 
ond number of his paper : 

*'WHAT OKE WE DO? 

*' The question is often gravely asked, 'What can we, in the 
North, do towards the abolition of Slavery in the South ? ' I 
will answer so far, at the present time, as to mention two things 
which we can and ought to do, by a candid and manly discus- 
sion ; the first relating to the North, and the second to the South. 
The first thing to be done, and that relating to the North, is, to 
vindicate and establish the principle of free discussion, and de- 
liver a large portion of the community from the slavish fear of 
looking at a great moral subject. When I look at an evil in our 
country, in view of which one of the greatest of southern patriots 
has been moved by the spirit of prophecy to exclaim, * I tremble 
* for my country, when I reflect that God is just,' — and when, 
upon some good citizens proposing to deliberate ways and means 
to save the country, ere it be too late, from a judgment more 
intolerable than that of Sodom and Gomorrah, I see the commu- 
nity up in arms to suppress all investigation touching the sub- 
ject, I feel ashamed for my native and beloved New England. 
And I view the restoration to the people, of this one principle — 
the principle of free, open, frank, ingenuous, fearless, manly, 
Christian investigation, of this, and all subjects involving the 
rights, duties, interests and privileges of mankind, — worth a 
firm persevering labor to attain it. Let this great principle be, 
by all, conceded, — and then, though there may yet be difference 
of opinion on the question of ways and means, there will be 
that general good feeling, that harmony of spirit in the commu- 
nity, which can never be brought about by the childish cries of 
those who are feeding the feverish spirit of division, by essaying 
to stop discussion with forever sounding upon the fear of divisions ! 
Divisions ! No Christian should ever speak, write, or print a 
word, which shall express the thought of a possibility of division 



TRE MEMOIR. 



821 



among Christians, (a division as to Christian union, I mean) by 
the free candid discussion of any subject touching moral princi- 
ples. If it be said that all discussion on the subject of slavery 
has not been candid, I answer, neither has all discussion on relig- 
ion, or any other subject, been candid. We are never to con- 
demn a good cause for the errors of some of its friends. 

"In the second place, I will say a word on the good which 
we, in the North, may do for the South. We may exert a good 
healthful moral influence. The community of mind is like the 
congregated waters ; one part bears, and unceasingly bears upon 
another. Moral corruption cannot always hold its place in the 
midst of surrounding moral light, and pure elevated moral sen- 
timent. 

"The owners of slaves are objects of our commiseration; 
their case demands the exercise of charity. They are blinded 
by supposed, but mistaken interest, as keepers of dram-shops 
have been, in this section. But, after all, if we will be their 
true friends, while we exercise that charity which ' sulfereth 
long and is kind,' we must remember that the same charity 
' rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth,' And if 
such were the elevated tone of moral sentiment in the non-slave- 
holding States, that when their southern brethren step within 
their borders, they sliould feel that they breathe an atmosphere 
In which the very principles of slavery must blight and die, as 
the accursed fig-tree by the word of Jesus, this state of public 
sentiment with us would, in spite of all menacing and scolding, 
gradually move upon them to pass the inquiry around, * What 
shall we do to raise ourselves to our proper moral elevation ? 
What shall we do to be saved ! ' But when they feel that the 
institution of slavery is approved and cherished by the popular 
sentiment of the whole country, this circumstance constitutes an 
additional bond to hold the slave in his chains, and the master in 
his error. 

" Will it be said that no reasonable man approves the princi- 
ple of slavery, — that all regard it a moral and political evil, 
but we must let it alone — we can do nothing for the removal of 
the evil ? This is not the language of the enlightened Christian 
philanthropist. When Jesus came into the world, and saw that 
darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the people, that 
all were as lost sheep, did he say, * Let them alone ; nothing 



322 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



can be done?' No; he went at work, overcoming darkness 
with light, and evil with good. He preached deliverance to the 
captives, and the recovery of sight to the blind. Will it be said 
that the captives whom the gospel of Jesus delivers, are captives 
in spiritual darkness and death ^ Be it so : and cannot Christ's 
disciples, in a country called a Christian country, making their 
own laws, and managing their own institutions — can they not 
do something by the way of reforming an institution of their 
own, which must, as long as it continues, hold locked in dark- 
ness the minds of millions, while it robs them of all that belongs 
to the moral intellectual man ? But what can we do ? We can 
do our part towards keeping in motion a kindly, yet mighty 
moral influence, which shall by and by move the whole South to 
inquire. What shall we do.f^ Then, the work will be done — 
America shall stand redeemed, saved, glorified." 

Such were his ideas of Freedom, and such his concep- 
tions of the duty of the true Christian teacher ; and the 
reader can now understand why he chose to denominate his 
hebdomadal Family Visiter a " Christian Freeman." 



THE MEMOIR. 



323 



CHAPTER III. 



Opposition, — Universalist Union," — " Trumpet," — 
A Pair op Letters. 



An old writer once said, — " If you never tell the truth, 
and are careful that your falsehood falls upon nobody's 
head, you will never make an enemy." Another writer, 
with something more of justness, says, — " He who would 
make no enemies must never seek to lead society out from 
old beaten tracks." It is a fact, apparent in the life of 
every man who has sought to work great reforms in Society, 
that he who steps on in advance of his companions as a 
pioneer will be denounced by those who have not the cour- 
age or the will to walk b}^ his side. In the first place, men 
do not like that another should discover and point out to 
them lines of duty ; and still less do they like to follow in 
another's lead. And then men do not like to be disturbed 
from quiet repose upon the downy beds of old established 
customs. And, furthermore, if some one of their number, 
more bold and uncompromising than his fellows, arises and 
girds on his armor, and calls upon them to join him in a 
crusade which is to them distasteful, the spirit of their op- 
position will be toned by the nature of the thing aimed at. 
If the proposed crusade is simply chimerical, they will rest 
perfectly easy to let their friend push on, and see his cru- 
sade fail from its own inertia ; but if there is justness and 
right in the cause, and a spirit of conservatism holds them 



324 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



back, they will be eager and bitter in their opposition jnst 
as their brother's purpose takes to itself power and signifi- 
cance from its heaven-born truth and equitableness. 

The man who, in writing a book, should allow the fear 
of what critics might say to hold back his pen, would be 
doing injustice to his subject, and treating the public un- 
fairly. All right-thinking men can understand and appre- 
ciate the many delicate points which the biographer is called 
upon to handle, and they would prefer that those things 
which properly belong to the life-record should be presented 
in the most direct and straightforward manner. First we 
are to decide what ought to be made known — what would 
be interesting and instructive to the public — and then 
determine how the matter can be best communicated. 

Mr. Cobb was most emphatically a Reformer, — and an 
ardent and zealous one, — but I think I may safely say 
that he made no enemies. That is, — between him and his 
opponents there never arose anything approaching in the 
least to personal enmity. This result was due to two 
causes: First, — He was so generous and true-hearted in 
his friendships, and his love and esteem for his brethren 
everywhere were so independent of " small personalities," 
that he was very slow to recognize ill-feeling in those whom 
he counted among his friends. Second, — In his sentences 
of utmost severity he never descended to anything like 
slang, and never made use of opprobrious epithets ; always 
distinguishing between a wrong principle and the person 
who advocated it, and ever ready to make the amende Jion- 
orable if he had inadvertantly done a wrong to any oppo- 
nent. In fact, Mr. Cobb's bitterest opponents — those who 
gave him the most trouble of thought and reflection — were 
warm personal friends — friends who gave him the warm 
grasp when they met him, and who loved to labor with him 



THE MEMOIR. 



325 



in the work of spreading abroad a knowledge of the char- 
acter and purposes of God as he and they understood them. 

We have now to deal with Mr. Cobb's labor in carrying 
on the Christian Freeman, and have come to that point 
where it is necessary to present some of the opposition he 
met with ; and in doing this let it be understood that I do 
not select these as individual cases, but as cases represent- 
ative of the general tone and character of the opposition 
that came from all quarters. God forbid that I should 
rake up old " hatchets that had been long buried," or that 
I should present to the public " old stories of strife long 
forgotten." I simply turn to the files of the early numbers 
of the paper to find out how the publisher progressed with 
his work ; how his friends in like business received his 
" bautling ; " and how he met their words of commenda- 
tion and of opposition. 

The first notice which we find of the new paper was in 
the " Universalist TJnion^^ published in New York, by Rev. 
P. Price. In his issue of March 9th, before the appearance 
of the Freeman, he offers some strictures on the Prospectus, 
and after expressing regret to find that a paper is coming 
forth on the plan proposed, he says, — 

" Again, the spirit and manner in which this new candidate for 
public favor puts forth its claims, is exceptionable — in one 
respect, at least, if we do not greatly misapprehend its language, 
it is deserving of direct rebuke." 

Br. Price then proceeds to quote from the Prospectus Mr. 
Cobb's remarks touching the need of such a paper as he 
proposed to publish, and goes on to remark, — 

" It bids the periodicals already in the field, it is true, ' God- 
speed in their Christian labors, as far as they see Jit to carry them!'' 
But this is designed to ' supply a desideratum ' in the denomina- 
tion ! It will not only contend 'earnestly for the faith once 
28 



326 



REV. SYLVANUS COBS, D.D, 



delivered to the saints,' but it ' shall furthermore carry out [and 
by implication, others do not,] the principles of this faith in 
their bearing upon the interests and duties of all our relations, 
in the family, in society, in the state, and in the world ! ! ' We 
had fondly thought that our periodicals had long and faithfully 
labored to this end — that they had earnestly and perseveringly 

* carried out ' the principles of our faith, and that they were still 
so engaged. But either the above is an unjust insinuation, or 
we have been sadly mistaken." 

As Mr. Cobb's reply to these strictures makes answer to 
a large number of correspondents who opposed his plan in 
the same spirit, I have thought proper to copy the most 
important portions of it here. It is as follows : — 

" Surely Br. Price forgets himself. He had just said, ' Make 
men good Universalists , and we shall have little to fear from 
slavery.' This is as much as to say tliat the spirit of Universal- 
ism is opposed to slavery, and must exert an influence to the 
doing away of the evil. This, then, is one of the practical 

* bearings ' of the principles of our faith, according to Br. P.'s 
own showing. And does he carry out these principles in this 
practical bearing ? He knows that he does not. And more than 
this, he would strangle in its birth our Christian Freeman, to pre- 
vent any attempt in ' our denomination ' to show and carry out 
our religious principles in this acknowledged bearing. Yet we 
have not cast upon Br. P. any censure for his not carrying out 
the principles of our faith, and urging them in this practical 
bearing. We bade him, and others, ' God-speed in then- Chris- 
tian labors, as far as they see fit to carry them.' But he tells us 
that he cannot ' return the compliment.' He even pays us with 
' direct rebuke,' for presuming ourself to go the step which he 
has not seen fit to take, that we may promote and cultivate the 
spirit of our faith, to have it felt and understood in the form in 
which he acknowledges it must exert itself in order to make a 
good Universalist ! 

" Br. P. proceeds to comment on the clause in our Prospectus 
where we say, ' We have papers devoted to the dissemination 
of our religious views, and ably conducted. But their editors 



THE MEMOIR. 



327 



choose so to conduct them as to gain and contmue their admis- 
sion, bearing our doctrines of faith, into tliose States and fami- 
ilies whose prejudices would exclude them if they devoted 
earnest and persevering labor to the causes of Temperance and 
Universal Freedom.' This he construes as ' plainly insinuating, 
that the conductors of our periodicals adopt a temporizing pol- 
icy,'' — and that they are governed by interest rather than their 
convictions of duty.' 

"But we hope our brother has by this time gotten so well 
over his bewildering affright, that he may bear the inquiry, 
' Understandest thou what thou readest ? ' We expressly gave 
it as the motive of our editors, to ' hear our doctrines of faith into 
those States and families,' &c. We know not but some of those 
editors are pro-slavery men. But we did not deem it important 
in a Prospectus, to discriminate. But we thought, and still 
think, that some of our editors who are anti-slavery men, choose 
to exclude from their columns the discussion of this question, 
believing that it would exclude them from many families, who 
would thus be deprived, not only of the discussions on this 
moral cause, but also of all the gospel instructions which they 
might otherwise have received. If our view, which is definitely 
expressed in the Prospectus, is correct, they * choose' the course - 
which they adopt, because they believe they may thus accom- 
plish the most good. With this view we could not censure 
them. But we believed that we could do the most good, in the 
present state of our denomination, and of the country, by means 
of a publication on the plan we have adopted, — and that the 
wants of the community require one such paper, to co-operate, 
in Christian love, with those before in the field. 

*' And here too our brother commits himself. He would have 
it understood that he cares not for the prejudices of States or 
families, nor for the exclusion or rejection of our journals from 
them, so as to be influenced thereby in his conduct. Yet he is 
moved to express regret that a certain great moral question 
should be introduced into our denomination; — and why? If 
all States and families were in a mood kindly to receive and con- 
sider this question, would he have this fearful apprehension 
from its being discussed, and show such determined opposition 
to it? We think not. What does he fear? Does he fear that 
they who have a sufficiency of the right spirit to make them 



328 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



' good Universalists,' will be induced to abandon our faith and 
our fellowship, should some of us now and then say fi word 
about * undoing the heavy burdens, and letting the oppressed go 
free ? ' No ; his fear is, that we have some among us whose 
love of the gospel is so Aveak, and whose prejudice against this 
moral cause is so strong, that if we broach this subject, not only 
will our papers be excluded from their houses, but we too from 
their fellowship, and thus we shall have ' dissensions within.' 

" But he will say that he deems it his duty, with reference to 
the greatest good, to thus regard the prejudice of a portion of 
the community. Very well. All this good motive we have 
accorded to him, and to others, from the beginning; nor can any 
language we have used be so distorted as to speak a different 
sentiment. Go on, brother, doing good as seemeth thee best, 
and accord to thy brethren the same great privilege. 

"In closing these remarks, we beg leave to assure the pro- 
prietor of the ' Union,' that the investigation of any question 
touching the improvement and welfare of mankind, is not to the 
gospel as a coal of fire to a cask of powder. The gospel is a 
great system of universal benevolence, whose spirit is truth, and 
investigation the food of it. Fear not, neither be dismayed. 
Christians should have no dread of light." 

Mr. Cobb made it a point, and rule of action, to avoid as 
far as possible all collision and fault-finding with his brother 
editors ; he was desirous to interchange with them kind 
offices, and to " encourage them in well-doing." He re- 
solved that he would not suflTer himself to be drawn into 
any rencounter, " except," as he expressed it in his paper, 
on the occasion of a notice of an attack which had been 
made upon him, " we feel called upon, by a sense of duty 
to ourself, and to the community whose good we hope to 
serve, to act in self-defence. And," he adds, " even this 
duty is to us so unpleasant that we hope to be seldom 
obliged to discharge it." 

We know that many men make it a point thus to express 
sorrow on the eve of a personal rencounter who do not feel 



THE MEMOIR. 



329 



what they speak ; but I know that Mr. Cobb instiuctively 
shrank from the notice of things that were spoken and 
written against him ; and unless a direct attack was made 
upon him, involving some of those principles of action 
which he had made his rule in the conducting of his publi- 
cation, he chose to let them pass unnoticed. Words from 
Mr. Cobb's pen, as from his lips, meant all they uttered. 
He was never flowery in his style, so he used no redundant 
words in that manner ; he never descended to tergiversa- 
tion, so he found no need of useless language here ; but 
what he had to say he said in the most direct manner pos- 
sible, resting always under the solemn conviction that duty 
should guide his ]oen as it should guide his steps in his 
daily walks before his God and his fellowmen. 

The article which has been noticed from the " Univer- 
sallst Union " was written upon the appearance of the Pros- 
pectus ; but upon the appearance of the first number of 
the paper the expression of opinion concerning the merits 
of the publication was more general. The " Trumpet," 
published by Br. Thomas Whittemore, in Boston, was at 
that time the leading paper in the denomination, and 
wielded vast influence. It was a firm and staunch sup- 
porter of the Universalist faith, and its editor was one of 
the most able and industrious theological writers that ever 
graced the editorial chair. Not only did Mr. Whittemore 
gain respectful attention to his paper by his own well- 
earned popularity as a writer and preacher, and by his un- 
surpassed qualities as a warm-hearted friend and genial 
companion ; but the ablest of our clergymen throughout 
the countrj^ had made his paper the vehicle through which 
to communicate their best thoughts to the j)ublic ; all of 
which had tended to give that paper a wider circulation 
28* 



330 BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

than was enjoyed by any other of our denominational pub- 
lications. 

It was natural that Mr. Cobb should look somewhat 
anxiously to see what the " Trumpet'' would have to say 
concerning his new paper ; and when he had seen, he was 
stirred to make a candid reply. The " Trumpet'' was a 
representative paper, and as its article upon the " Free- 
man " reflected the opinions and feelings of a large class 
of the denomination, both ministers and laymen, of course 
Mr. Cobb's reply thereto was a fitting response to that whole 
school of opposition ; and . as such I shall give it here in 
connexion with the remarks which called it forth. 

In the first place Mr. Whittemore expresses some aston- 
ishment at the appearance of this new paper, in Massachu- 
setts. There were " already four" Universalist periodicals 
published in the State, and where could be the room or the 
need of the fifth ? To this Mr. Cobb simply replies, — " If 
there had been ten times four, and there are moral subjects 
that a portion of our fraternity believe ought to be pro- 
moted among us, and by us, the discussion of which does 
not come within the design of either of these publications, 
there is place for another." 

After making the enumeration above alluded to the 
editor of the " Trumpet " proceeds as follows : — 

*' Br. Cobb has judged that these papers do not supply all the 
wants of the denomination, and he has therefore struck out a 
plan entirely new. He intends that his paper shall he, 1st a 
Unh^eksalist paper, 2d a Temperance paper, on the principle 
of total abstinence, and 3d an Abolition paper. We have not 
one word to say about his plan ; the public will judge of that ; 
and they will be impartial judges, too. The course pursued by 
the Trumpet is very well known. It has been under trial for 
eleven years, and we are more convinced than ever of the pro- 
priety of our course. The Trumpet is designed to be a Univer- 



TBE MEMOIR. 



331 



SALIST paper. Its editor has no desire, and certainly no design, 
to mingle in any of the party strifes of the day. All these excit- 
ing topics, on which the community is now becoming more and 
more divided, we let alone ; being perfectly willing to be a 
peace-maker between the parties, doing all in our power to heal 
their divisions. We believe Universalism to be the doctrine of 
the Bible, beautiful in theory, equally beautiful in practice. We 
established the Trumpet to defend that doctrine, — and such, 
with God's blessing, we are determined to do ; exerting all our 
power to preserve the denomination from intestine divisions and 
war." 

I well remember Mr. Cobb's surprise upon reading the 
above, and how deeply his feelings were stirred as he com- 
mented upon it. There was no unkindness of expression 
in his remarks — only grief and wonder. But his reply in 
his own columns gives it about as he spoke it. Here it 
is : — 

" These remarks, put into this notice of the Christian Free- 
man, we understand to be designed to excite the apprehension 
that this paper will be a promoter of ' divisions ' among us, even 
of ' intestine divisions and war.' Speaking of the subjects of 
Temperance and Universal Freedom, the editor says he has ' no 
desire, and certainly no design, to mingle in any of the party 
strifes of the day.' And is it possible that Br. W. is willing to 
take advantage of the too popular and extremely hurtful preju- 
dice, and to confirm and deepen that prejudice, against the dis- 
cussion of a great moral question which involves the dearest 
interests of the community, by branding such discussion as 
* mingling in the party strifes of the day ' He further says — 
'AH these exciting topics, on which the community is now be- 
coming more and more divided, we let alone.' Is this our old 
ardent co-worker in the Temperance cause? He has lectured, 
boldly and ably, up and down our land, in Universalist meeting- 
houses, and others, in promotion of the Temperance cause ; he 
has been punctual in his attendance, and forward and interest- 
ing in the debates of Temperance Conventions. When Univer- 
salists have been accused, as a denomination, of hostility to the 



332 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D,D. 



Temperance reform, and other great and good moral enter- 
prises of the day, he has stepped forth, time and again, in 
defence of the order, mentioning the fact that the General Con- 
vention of Universalists was the first ecclesiastical body that 
passed a resolution in favor of the Temperance cause, and that 
most of our clergymen, and a large portion of the members of 
our societies, were the open active friends of this cause. And 
now will he calculate to prevent divisions, and promote the rep- 
utation and prosperity of our order, by having it understood 
that we will take no further part or lot in the great and glorious 
Temperance enterprise, nor in any other moral cause upon 
which there may, for a time, be difference of opinion? And is 
this the way to be ' a peace-maker between the parties,' and to 
*heal divisions' — to let the subject alone f A difference of 
opinion has obtained in our community on several moral sub- 
jects, which all acknowledge to be important subjects. But we 
desire to have the difference removed, and all to be of one mind. 
And how shall this be effected? By a refusal to speak, on the 
part of those who should exert an influence to give a healthful 
tone to public sentiment? and by crying out, disturber of the 
peace! maker of divisions! against every one who kindly and re- 
spectfully calls for a hearing on the subject? This, with the 
power to burn and hang, was once the way to preserve union. 
But now, this will not suffice. When we see the community 
divided in opinion, we must go forth with the affectionate en- 
treaty, * Come, now, and let us reason together.' Let us 
kindly and fraternally investigate — ' prove all things,' and 
shortly we shall see ' eye to eye.' In the mean time, we will 
* keep the unity of the spirit in the bonds of peace.' 

"Will our friend say that he is not opposed to the free and 
candid discussion of these moral subjects, only he does not 
think it would be judicious for him to admit such discussion into 
his paper ? Well, we have no controversy with him as to this. 
We have cast no censure upon any of our editors for the plans 
they have adopted for their respective papers. One, as the 
Expositor, may be devoted to heavy religious essays and scrip- 
ture expositions, excluding the light and controversial reading. 
Another, as the Ladies' Repository, may be specially devoted 
to the wants of the female class of the community ; and another, 
like the Trumpet, may be devoted to the doctrines of Universal- 



THE MEMOIR, 



333 



ism, and the affairs of our societies, without extending the 
practical bearings of those doctrines to any of the great moral 
enterprises for the reform of injurious popular customs or 
institutions in the country. Another, like our own humble sheet, 
may undertake to be a general family paper, giving religious 
essays, doctrinal and practical, — literary articles, and foreign 
and domestic news, — and furthermore laboring to show the 
agency which the gospel should and must have, in reforming 
the evil customs, and the institutions founded in wrong, in our 
counti-y and the world. And why may we not all pursue our 
respective plans, without endeavoring to excite unjust prejudice 
against each other ? 

" But as to the making of divisions by discussing those moral 
questions, if our brother objects not to the discussion, but to the 
mode we adopt, it being in a public journal, rather than by 
lecturing and verbal debate, we must confess surprise at his 
opinion. We are sure that what is suitable to be publicly lec- 
tured and debated, is suitable to be printed and read. And men 
are more likely to write deliberately and calmly, than to speak 
thus in extemporaneous address, or in the warmth of oral de- 
bate. We are prone to take a second look at what we write for 
the press, to go out to the pubhc on a disjDuted matter. And 
persons of the opposite opinion, when they sit retired, their 
natural pride of opinion free from the fear of detection by the 
gazing crowd on the first flash of conviction in the countenance, 
can read and weigh argument more calmly than they can hear 
debate. The fear of harm from writing on a subject which we 
would fearlessly discuss in public addresses and debates, is 
groundless fear indeed. But we find no fault with another, be- 
cause he does not choose to discuss all the subjects which we 
discuss, in a public journal. 'Now there are diversities of 
gifts, but the same spirit. And there are differences of ad- 
ministi-ation, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of 
operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 
But the ^manifestation of the spirit is given to every man to 
PROFIT WITHAL. * * And if they were all one member, where 
were the body? But now are they many members, yet but 
one body.' 

"We have protracted these remarks to a greater length than 
we intended, and will close by assuring Br. Whittemore, and 



334 hev. sylvanus cvbb, d.d. 

t 

the whole community, thatom' deliberately fixed and determined 
pm-pose is, to do all we can to promote union and good feeling 
among Christians, and to bring into the Christian fraternity the 
ignorant and those who are out of the way — doing these things 
by the gentle, yet mighty force of truth. We are sensible of 
our weakness ; — in a consciousness of pure motive, our reli- 
ance is on the God and Father of all, for success in our feeble 
labors and efforts. If we receive any unkind thrusts in the 
house of our friends, we shall be grieved ; but, the Lord help- 
ing us, we shall not be discouraged, nor swerved from the path 
by which we think duty calls us." 

I thank God that I am able to present these diflSculties 
that beset the path of Mr. Cobb as he entered upon his new 
field of labor, and am at the same time able to assure the 
reader that never a ripple, even, came to ruffle the tide of 
friendship that had so long borne these brethren upon its 
bosom. Had it been otherwise I should not have brought 
these reminiscences out from their resting-places. There 
were no troubles in the social field ; in the great work of 
promulgating a knowledge of the doctrine of God's glorious 
purpose of the final triumph of good over evil they worked 
shoulder to shoulder, and hand in hand, as they had done 
before ; and at the altar of the Risen Saviour they met as 
though no word save of kindness and good cheer had ever 
passed between them. And in the after years, when the 
Christian Freeman had become a power in the denomina- 
tion, and in the world, there was no contention between 
them, " save that noble contention, or rather, emulation, 
of who could best work and best agree." 

Before closing this chapter I must give the reader two 
letters which I find among some old files, as showing the 
different stand-points from which different individuals can 
view the same subject. Of course I omit names, as the 
missives were not intended for the public eye ; and I will 



THE MEMOIR. 



335 



acid that the writer of the first, the last time I heard from 
him, was one of the most zealous and ardent Republicans 
in the countrj^, going in for the utter destruction of slavery, 
root and branch, as a means of saving the country from 
ruin and disgrace. 

Here is letter number one : — 

*' Lowell, Mass., Nov. Sd, 1839. 

*'Rev. S. Cobb,— 

*'Dear Sir, — When I subscribed for your paper I supposed 

I was going to have a real good Universalist paper, as I knew 

that you were one of the best preachers in the country, and that 

you knew how to write for the press, as I had read many of your 

articles in the old Trumjjet. But I find that I was sadly mistaken. 

I could stand your Temperance stuff, as I am not a drinking 

man, though I think a Universalist paper is not exactly the 

place to print it in, as a good many first-rate Universalists are 

men who make use of spirituous beverages. But I cannot stand 

your stuff about Niggers ! You have no business to introduce 

that kind of politics into a paper that is meant for circulation in 

our families. I don't want my family to read it. What have we, 

as Universahsts, to do with the Niggers'? They are well enough 

off as they are. I should say, enough sight better off than many 

of the poor girls that work in our cotton fiictories. Such kind 

of stuff' won't go down with me, and I won't have it ; so you may 

stop your paper as soon as you please. In your last paper was 

an article headed ' Hoio shall Slavery be abolished; ' and you say 

you shall have more to say about it in your next. But I don't 

want to see it ; so you may stop my paper. I have paid up to 

next May, but you may send the rest of the papers that I should 

get to somebody that loves the Niggers better than does 

Yours ti'uly, 

11 



Mr. Cobb did not stop the paper, however ; and it may 
be that the Freeman itself did something towards briuging 
this brother from darkness to light. 

The next letter is as follows : — 



336 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, B.D, 



"New Bedford, Dec. 7th, 1839. 

"Rev. S. Cobb,— 

*' Dear Sir and Friend, — I know not how to thank you for 
the pleasure and profit I have derived in the perusal of your 
truly excellent paper. I was led to subscribe for it in the first 
place on account of its devotion to Human Freedom. I had 
lived in the South, having spent three years in Alabama, at work 
on a large sugar plantation at my trade as a cooper, and I knew 
something of the terrible sin of slavery. I do not see how a man 
can be a Christian, and at the same time an upholder of slavery ; 
nor can I see how a man can be an anti-slavery man if he is 
afraid to preach it. When I have heard men declare that the 
subject of slavery was not fit to be carried into the pulpit I could 
not help thinking what Christ would do could he to-day be sent 
on earth to redeem America as he was once sent to redeem 
Judea, and, with it, the world. I think he would not hesitate to 
speak out against a sin so enormous. The man who says that 
Christ would have remained silent on such a subject is not a fit 
follower of the Blessed Lamb whose blood was shed to wash 
away the sins of the world. 

" God bless you, sir, in your noble work ; and I have a double 
reason for blessing you. Before taking your paper my mind had 
not become settled upon any particular religious faith, though I 
was rather inclined to the Methodist persuasion. But I have no 
doubts now. I first thought that the religion which could lead 
you to speak so boldly for the liberty of a downtrodden and en- 
slaved race must be a good one, and I have become more than 
satisfied. As I have read your Scripture expositions from week 
to week, my eyes have been opened, and I now see my way 
clearly. If Christ shall, in the end, see of the travail of his soul 
and be satisfied, what have I to fear ? I know the work he was 
sent to do, and you have led me to see that he will accomplish 
it. 

'* I herewith send you two new subscribers for your paper, 
and the money to pay for the same for one year. May your 
shadow never be less. 

" Yours for the oppressed everywhere. 



THE MEMOIE, 



337 



And so the work went on. There were some head-flaws, 
and some sources of vexation ; but there were manj^ gleams 
of sunshine cast upon the pathway of the bold and devoted 
defender of the Rights of Humanity ; and he grew strong 
in the work as he became more and more com^nced of the 
need thereof. 

29 



/ 



338 



HEY. STLVANUS COBBj D.D, 



CHAPTEE IV. 

Mr. Cobb's position as a Heformer, — "Between two 
FIRES," — Br. Greenwood's Acrostic, — Commenda- 
tory. 

An obscure man of the olden time, desiring to make a 
noise in the world, and to have his name handed down to 
posteritj^, set fire to the magnificent Temple of Diana, thus 
in a few hours reducing to a heap of ruins a pile that had 
occupied the genius of the most celebrated artists, and the 
time of thousands of workmen, for years. And he gained 
what he sought. He became at once famed, and his name 
stands recorded in history among the notables of his day 
and generation. So at the present time there are men who 
seek to make a noise in the world simply through convul- 
sion — who seek to make themselves notorious, caring little 
what the result to others may be so that they gain the end 
of personal notoriet}^ There are men calling themselves 
Reformers whose only object seems to be, to destroy. They 
have a great penchant for tearing down old institutions ; 
but they do not burden their minds with thoughts of build- 
ing up an3^thing. Such men are apt to inscribe upon their 
banners one or two legends which will enlist the sympathies 
of those who desire healthy reform ; but these are after all 
only baits thrown out to draw the unsuspecting and unwary 
to their standards. For instance : Men have professed 
great devotion to the principles of Temperance and Human 
Freedom, while the direct tendency of their efibrts has 



THE MEMOIR. 



339 



been, to break down the sacred institutions of the Sabbath 
and the Christian Religion. 

At the time when Mr. Cobb commenced his labors as an 
apostle of Temperance and Human Freedom there were a 
class of men in the country, travelling about from place to 
place, ostensibl}' to educate the people up to a true stand- 
ard of opinion on those subjects, but the practical result 
of whose ministration was, to alienate the people from some 
of the best and most sacred institutions of the land. 

Now Mr. Cobb was a reformer, in the strictest and high- 
est sense of that term ; but he looked to reform for the ac- 
complishment of something more than simply uprooting old 
prejudices, and tearing down old institutions. He pro- 
posed to BUILD UP. If he applied the besom, it was onl}^ to 
sweep away dirt and rubbish ; and if he put his hands to 
an}^ of the parts of old structures, it was only for the pur- 
pose of making such alterations as would conduce to the 
comfort and well-being of societ3\ So, as he went on with 
his work, he found two classes of opponents whom he was 
forced to meet and engage. On one hand were those who 
were entirely satisfied to let things remain as they were ; 
while on the other were those extreme come-outers who 
went in for a general S3^stem of social devastation. 

Those men who make the most noise are not the men 
who do the most work ; and those who make the greatest 
show of grand preparation are not those who accomplish 
most. Few men are aware how much Mr. Cobb really ac- 
complished in the work of Reform, for very few know, or 
have any idea of, how much labor in that direction he per- 
formed. There was nothing spasmodic in his movements.; 
but from the time when first he put his hand to the work to 
the failing of his strength, his life was one continuous cur- 
rent of action — action wisely considered, and well-directed, 



340 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, Z>.X>. 



bearing him surely on to victory. He had to labor with 
those who needed instruction in the great principles of 
moral and social truth ; and he had to hold off those who 
objected to the dissemination of such knowledge ; and all 
the while there were not wanting those who were ready on 
frequent occasions to denounce him because he would not 
join in all the wild and fantastic isms of the day. 

He had worked out his course ; he had faith that it was 
right ; and he would not depart from it ; and I know that 
he sought God upon his knees very often for guidance and 
strength. There were those in the Universalist denomina- 
tion who were inclined to be over-zealous in their opposi- 
tion to slavery, — who would make that evil a " hobby," 
to be ridden at all times, and into all places, to the detri- 
ment of other good and needed reforms. Some few there 
were who would even go so far as to give the subject of 
Abolitionism precedence over the legitimate work of dis- 
seminating the principles of our faith. Such men, in Mr. 
Cobb's estimation, " put the cart before the horse." He 
regarded Christianity as the grand motive power, and he 
who would take to himself a firm and sure foundation upon 
which to erect his superstructure of reform, must be strong 
in the faith of God's unending love and unswerving justice. 
It was his religion that led him to labor for the good of the 
unfortunate children of sin and sorrow, and he would join 
in no movement which was calculated to detract from the 
merits of that religion, or to hinder its progress of develop- 
ment in the minds of his fellow-men. 

As might have been expected, some of the more ardent 
and zealous of those Abolitionists who had embraced the 
Universalist faith sought to make the Freeman the vehicle 
of their peculiar opinions and ideas, and in the disposition 



THE MEMOIR. 



341 



of such matters the editor was called upon to exercise nice 
judgment. 

At the close of the previous chapter I remarked that 
many gleams of sunshine were cast upon the pathway of 
the editor ; and I have a mind to give one or two of them 
in this place. He who has never occupied the chair edito- 
rial cannot fully appreciate the value of kind words of com- 
mendation from friends and patrons. The product of an 
editor's labor is cast before the ej^es of thousands of critics " 
every week, and if he has the soul in him fit for the work 
he will be childish enough to wish to know what people 
say about him. Editors are human, and though they are 
obliged to bear before the world an appearance of impene- 
trability, yet they have feelings like other men, and words 
of praise make them glad. In fact, show me the man who 
does not experience a thrill of pleasure and satisfaction when 
a word in praise of some effort which he has made reaches 
his ear, and I will show you a man who knows not what it 
is to feel a kindly wish for others. 

The following was wi'itten, as the reader will see by the 
date, during the third 3'ear of the Freeman's existence, and 
the words with which the editor introduces it will show 
how he estimated it. He saj^s, at the introduction, — 

The following beautiful, sentimental, poetic effusion of Br. 
Greenwood, is as refreshing as the dews of heaven : — 

For the Freeman and Visiter. 

ACROSTIC. 

T-bou hast come, " Christian Freeman," a thrice welcome guest, 
H-aving power to impart of thy spirit to me, 
E-ver since thy first tones to my ears were address'd, 
C-onveying the heart-stirring notes of the Free ! 
H-owbeit, thou stand'st on position unmated, 
R-elying alone on the strength of thy Cause; 
29* 



342 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D,D, 



I-n thy thus far career thou hast many elated, 

S-weet Freedom to hope for, yea, "Freedom with Laws." 

T-hy foes had foreboded abundance of evil, 

I-n broaching a subject on which thou hast dwelt, 

A-nd regarding thy spirit soarce else than the Devil, 

N-ought but harshness and hatred against thee were dealt : 

F-or thou walked'st in a path which man's fears had forbidden, 

R-elying on Rigblx to conduct thee safe through, 

E-ven tho' in thy footpath small vipers were hidden; 

E-ven tho' they should spit out their venoms at you. 

Man's Rights, e'en as mak, thou hast well vindicated, 

A-nd nobly contended that all should be free; 

N-otwithstanding the skin-hues which God hath created, 

A SOUL, not the color, the standard should be ! 

N-ow God speed thee onward, on pinions of love, 

D-ripping balm to the bruised and the bleeding of earth, 

F-illing those held in thraldom with hope from above, 

A-nd the hearts of the mourning with gladness and mirth. 

M-ay thy voice in sweet gospel strains always resounding, 

I-n behalf of a world having claims upon thee; 

L-ike the Saviour's voice speak, in true wisdom abounding, 

Y-e shall all know the Truth, — and the Truth shall make Free ! 

V-iewing man as the brother of man, the world over, 

I-n the image of God once created, and bless'd 

S-ince the Saviour appeared, this great truth to discover, 

I-n Jesus, the Lord, shall all nations find rest, — 

T-hy voice lift thou up, without fearing or doubting, 

E-'en with strength lift it up, and be not afraid; 

K-elying on God, and still LIBERTY shouting. 

The blessings of millions shall rest on thy head. 

T. J. G. 

Marlboro', Dec, 1841. 

After I had commenced this chapter, while looking over 
the third volume of the Freeman, I came across an article 
of commendation which I think will fit in here exactly, as 
it goes to help sustain the position I assumed touching ISIr. 
Cobb's judicious and healthful management of reformatory 
matters in connection with the affairs of our denomination. 



THE 3IEM0IR. 



343 



It is from the pen of a gentleman of refinement and cul- 
ture, and occupying a high position in the social and moral 
world : — 

For the Christian Freeman. 
COIMMENDATORY. 

'* Mr. Editor — I have for some time been fenished with the 
Christian Freeman and Family Visiter. I have endeav- 
ored to examine its contents with the care and candor to which 
works of the kind are entitled ; and a very acceptable visiter, I 
can assm-e you, it has proved. 

From the commencement of the publication, a number had 
occasionally fallen under my eye ; and, from the favorable im- 
pression thus made, I concluded to take the work, long enough, 
at least, to make myself somewhat thoroughly acquainted with 
its general character, and the claims it might have upon the 
reading portion of our community. 

" As I was already pretty amply supplied with periodicals of 
different descriptions, I know not that I should have thought of 
adding yours to the number, had it not been for the fact, that 
some of my most valued friends, those in whose judgment I have 
found reason to place more than ordinary confidence, had ex- 
pressed some scruples with respect to the propriety of giving it 
their countenance and support. 

** Their scruples arose from an apprehension that some of the 
topics, the free and full discussion of which you allow in your 
columns, ought not to be admitted into a religious periodical ; 
and especially at a time of such high popular excitement in re- 
gard to them, as the present. 

** To some 'extent, I was myself, perhaps, the subject of a sim- 
ilar apprehension. This difficulty, however, so far as I am con- 
cerned, has been wholly surmounted. Not a vestige of it re- 
mains. By a careful, and, I hope, candid perusal of the Chris- 
tian Freeman, I have become fully convinced that it is not the 
topics themselves, to which I have alluded, that are unsuitable 
for discussion in a religious periodical ; but the unkind, harsh 
and abusive style in which such discussions have too frequently 
been carried on. 

That the great questions of slavery or no slavery; intern- 



344 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



perance or no intemperance, are proper subjects of human 
inquiry, no one can, for a moment, entertain a doubt. The 
hapless slave whom a most barbarous custom has cruelly abused, 
and the miserable inebriate who abuses himself, have just de- 
mands for the fearless and full examination of their respective 
cases. They have a right to know, and they ought to know, 
whether the great interests of civilized and Christian society, 
absolutely require the perpetuation of the unnatural and enor- 
mous evils of human bondage, and of drunkenness. 

" The ill-fated and much-to-be-pitied possessor of slaves, and 
the dishonored and deeply afflicted relatives and friends of the 
poor, self-degraded, and self-tormented, inebriate, have power- 
ful claims upon their fellow-men, for a generous and searching 
investigation of the grounds upon which the dreadful scourges 
of slavery and inebriation are continued among men. On this 
account, therefore, no less than on that of the lorn slave and the 
drunkard themselves, ought these matters to be thoroughly and 
dispassionately inquired into. 

*' The house of God, moreover, and the common dictates of 
humanity ; ay, and the spirit of that holy and compassionate 
religion, professed by the great m.ass of our community, call 
aloud and incessantly for such an inquiry. And it is not, I 
repeat, the subjects themselves, which are fraught with danger ; 
but an indiscreet manner of handling them. 

" From the peculiar state of the times ; the position which one 
section of our common countrjaiien sustain towards the other ; 
and, especially, from the intense sensitiveness which pervades 
our whole land, upon these subjects, the discussion of them calls 
for a very guarded foresight and discretion. 

" A hasty and impetuous spirit; a head-strong enthusiasm; a 
tongue unbridled and habitually denunciatory, hung upon the 
pivot of a rash and extravagant censoriousness — these ought 
never to meddle with this grave and benevolent work. It is 
too high and holy for their habits. They will do it no good, ad- 
vance it onward not a hair's breadth, l^o ; they Avill do it harm ; 
heap dishonor upon it ; lamentably retard its progress. They 
have already, and often, done these things, though, I am will- 
ing to believe, with other and the best intentions. 

'* In the conductor of the Freeman, however, I am happy to 
meet with a mind, and a spirit, eminently qualified to do justice 



THE MEMOIR. 



345 



to these exciting and difficult subjects, and to all who are in any- 
way affected by them. I have been much gratified by the cool 
self-possession, the candor, the tenderness, and, above all, the 
high-minded and generous regard to the feelings of the parties, 
deemed by many to be criminally involved, which have hitherto 
marked your course. They bear the signature of a genuine 
magnanimity ; and I beg to assure all under whose eye these 
remarks may fall, that they need not hesitate about subscribing 
for the Freeman, from an apprehension that they may meet 
with something offensive in its columns, on the controverted 
questions to which I have alluded. From what I have seen of 
the paper, there are, I am confident, no just grounds for the 
indulgence of any such fears. 

" The abolitionist and anti-abolitionist; the temperance man, 
and he who is not, unless under the dominion of unreasonable 
prejudices, may read it with equal pleasure and advantage. 
There is much in every number which I have seen, to instruct, 
to edify, and to comfort . every individual, and every family, 
desirous of knowing the truth, and of growing ' in grace, and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.' 

" The leading editorial articles, in particular, I deem to be 
exceedingly valuable. They discuss, in a very plain and thor- 
ough manner, subjects of general and thrilling interest, and 
with which all whose minds are exercised, as they ought to be, 
upon the great question respecting the true meaning of the holy 
Scriptures, must feel deeply anxious to become acquainted. 

"The tales, also, which occasionally meet with an insertion, 
will be found entertaining and profitable, as each one carries 
along with it a moral, rich in sj)iritual and practical influences. 

*' In a word, without any intention to flatter, I can truly say, 
that, in my own opinion, for general, family use, if on no other 
account, the Christian Freeman and Family Visiter justly 
deserves a rank among the very best of the religious periodicals 
of the age." 

This book will fall under the eyes of many who never 
saw the Christian Freeman, and I have devoted thus 
much space to these commendatory articles in order to 



346 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



show in what light the paper was held by good and true 
men. 

When I was younger than I am now, and when the pub- 
lication of a hebdomadal devoted to the interests of a dis- 
tinctive organization had flattened down my pocket-book 
to a degree of thinness truly alarming, I aspired to an 
office in the Boston Custom House. The first name upon 
my petition was that of ex-Governor Briggs, and the sec- 
ond, Dea. Moses Grant. " Never mind the rest," said 
Mr. Greeley, the collector, when he had cast his eyes upon 
those two autographs ; "if you had a thousand more signa- 
tures they would not lead me to give your petition a more 
favorable consideration than will those two." 

And so it is in all departments of life. So far as gen- 
eral principles are concerned, the evidence of one or two 
intelligent witnesses is sufficient to establish the truth. It 
is a fact that Mr. Cobb gave to the public an excellent 
famil}^ paper, and he spared no pains of time, labor, or 
money, to make the Feeeman a welcome and entertaining 
Visiter to the thousands of families that had given it a 
j)lace at their firesides. 



THE MEMOin. 



347 



CHAPTEE y. 

Mr. Cobb's TEiiPEKANCE, — His first Glass, — Uproot- 
ing OLD Customs, — A return of Bread cast upon 

THE WATERS, AnEGDOTE. 

Mr. Cobb was a Temperance man ft'om inclination as 
well as principle. Except when prescribed by a medical 
practitioner, he never but once in his life tasted of distilled 
spirit. Upon his father's farm, as upon all other farms in 
those days, alcoholic beverages were furnished for such of 
the workmen as desired them, especially during the sea- 
sons of sheep-washing and haying ; and the spirit most 
generally in use was " pure old Xew-Engiand Rum." One 
warm, sweltering day in July, Trhen the hands came in from 
the hay-field to their dinner, the brown jug was taken from 
the closet and placed upon a side table, and those who felt 
the need thereof " took a drop " before sitting down to the 
meal. One tough old fellow, who had done work enough 
to entitle him to the privilege of an " extra di'op," pom-ed 
out nearly half a tumbler full, and having drank it off, 
without addition of water or sugar, he smacked his lips as 
though he loved it. The subject of our memoir, then a boy 
of some ten years, had conceived quite a liking for this old 
Trojan, and he fancied that there must be something re- 
markabl}^ good in the beverage that had given him such 
apparent satisfaction. It was not often that such an op- 
portunity was presented, as the host seldom brought that 



348 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



jug out from its place of rest save when others than mem- 
bers of his family were at work for him, and on the present 
occasion the lad thought he would try a taste of the liquor. 
So he poured some out into a tumbler, and put it to his 
lips as the Trojan had done before him, in its pure and un- 
diluted state. He took one swallow, and, with a smothered 
gasp of agony, he dropped the glass, and started for the 
water-pail. His sensitive palate was on fire ; tears started 
from his eyes ; and a shudder ran through his frame as 
though he had received a shock from an electric battery. 
As soon as he had regained his breath, and rinsed out his 
mouth, he looked back upon the brown jug and wondered 
how a man could drink that stuff and love it. He had re- 
ceived it upon its first introduction in its pure and natural 
state, and that once sufficed. He never tried it again. 

The reader who has perused the Autobiography has seen 
at what an early date Mr. Cobb commenced his labors as a 
Tempefance Keformer. There are men who have made 
vastly more noise in the Temperance world, and who have 
become more popular upon the Temperance rostrum ; but 
I know there are none who have labored more faithfully, 
and I doubt if there are any who have labored more suc- 
cessfully. He commenced when it was unpopular to be a 
temperance man. He urged total abstinence upon his 
friends when he stood almost alone upon that platform. 
He did not open his career surrounded by a sympathizing 
multitude ; he did not have, in those pioneer times, meet- 
ings appointed for him by the leading citizens of a town, 
and find hfmself applauded and cheered by the solid men 
of the community. He did not find himself backed up by 
public opinion, with all the wives and daughters on his 
side. No, — he had to go at work and make that public 
opinion, and the wives and daughters of leading citizens 



THE MEMOIR. 



349 



were among those whom he had to educate up to a sym- 
pathy with his cause. Occupjdng a position which, far 
more than most positions of life, required that, for his own 
comfort, he should draw the hearts of men unto him, he 
had the manly courage to take the Temperance Pledge in 
his hand and go forth among his parishioners for signa- 
tures. And what was it that he asked his friends and 
neighbors to do ? It was to make a radical change in their 
habits of social life — to uproot and cast out one of the 
most general and significant of all social customs. At that 
time the decanter was upon nearly every sideboard, and the 
host who suffered a visiter to come and go without offering 
a glass of spirits was considered to have committed a gross 
impropriety. The minister, and the doctor, calling either 
in a social or professional capacit}^, must be presented with 
the " generous stimulant," and even an ecclesiastical coun- 
cil was not considered perfect in its appurtenances if the 
decanters and glasses were wanting. And then let it be 
particularly borne in mind that the women were the most 
unwilling of all to listen to the proposition for a change in 
this custom. To them was entrusted the charge of the 
hospitalities of the house, and theirs was the privilege of 
extending the " spirit " welcome. The matron was proud 
of her glittering array of decanters and finely cut and pol- 
ished goblets, and if these were removed it seemed to her 
that she should be forsaken by her friends. I will not saj?- 
that women are more slaves to custom than are the men ; 
but it is true that they are more strongly attached to social 
and domestic habits and institutions ; and though the 
women now — God bless them ! — are foremost in the good 
work, yet in those times they were very loath to have their 
china-closets and side-boards stripped of their prettiest 
ware. 

30 



350 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Such was the state of things when Mr. Cobb devoted 
himself to the temperance work. He hud no hope of 
pecuniary return ; and, in fact, he sought no return save 
such return of happy reflection as might be his to enjoy 
consequent upon good done to his fellow-men. In these 
later days temperance workmen have been reaping where 
he sowed. Many and many a glorious temperance crop 
has been gathered by true-hearted, zealous laborers, which 
came from seed that he sowed in those other years. And 
he lived to see his work prosper ; and his heart was often 
made glad upon beholding the rich returns of moral fruit 
in those places where he had " cast his bread upon the 
waters." 

During the month of April, 1842, Mr. Cobb's eye caught 
the following item in the " Mercantile Journal,'' of Bos- 
ton : — 

Three cheees for Malden. — At a public meeting of the 
citizens of Maiden, on Monday last, the question came before 
the town, whether the Selectmen should be instructed to grant 
any licenses for the sale of intoxicating drinks. NO ! was the 
UNANEVious answer. What town will beat this ? " 

Such items as this brought gleams of comfort to the 
pioneer, and called up pleasing reflections in his mind. 
Upon the foregoing scrap of intelligence Mr. Cobb, in his 
paper of April 2 2d, remarks as follows : — 

" This intelligence is pleasing to us, particularly so, as the 
inhabitants of Maiden are our old neighbors and associates, and 
as that is the field of our early temperance labors. For ten 
years we officiated as Pastor of the First Parish in that town. 
When the Temperance Society had been in operation there a 
short time, and we had prepared the way by occasional private 
conversation, and by a public discourse on it in our own desk, 
on a fast day, we borrowed the Temperance Constitution, and 



^THE ME MO lit. 



351 



went from house to house among the members of our society, 
soliciting tlieir names. This was no small undertaking. We 
had a great variety of objections to encounter, and generally a 
considerable discussion at each house. Some said, ' It is a sec- 
tarian thing ; the society has conducted the matter in a sectarian 
spirit; and when we have been in to hear a temperance lecture, 
we have been paid oif with a sectarian sermon.' Upon this we 
would endeavor to show them that they must consider the merits 
of the temperance cause, independently of the management of 
its professed friends ; that if the cause was good, they were 
morally bound to give it their support ; that they ought not to 
leave so good a cause in what they called sectarian hands, but 
should go forward and do their own duty, &c., &c*. Others would 
urge that they knew best what was good for themselves ; and 
others, that they would not sign away their liberty. All these 
objections, too, had to be talked over. We succeeded, however, 
to obtain the signatures of nearly fifty heads of families in our 
society, in the first tour through, which required about a week's 
time. 

**One casein particular we will mention, as an example of 
good principle. We called upon a gentleman who had long been 
a sea Captain in the East India trade. We presented the case 
before him, and he cheerfully responded, ' I have been in the 
habit of taking a social glass of spirits with a friend occasionally ; 
but if I can do any good by signing the pledge, and dispensing 
with the habit, I will do so.' His lady remarked that she had no 
desire to take spirit except when she came in chilly on a cold 
evening, and felt that there was danger of taking a cold. Then 
she found that a little hot drink, with a mixture of some kind of 
spirit, was warming — Our 'help-meet,' who happened to be 
with us on this call, replied, that doubtless she found the hot 
toddy more conducive to warmth than nothing, but there were 
substitutes which would answer as good a purpose, or probably 
better. For one of the substitutes she gave to the lady a recipe 
for a pleasant ginger tea. ' Well,' said she, * add my name with 
my husband's to the Temperance pledge.' Since then, this gen- 
tleman and lady have done more good to society, by their tem- 
perance influence, than they could have done by bequeathing 
their whole estate, to endow literary and benevolent institu- 
tions. 



352 



ItEV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.D. 



"But there were some who became unfriendly towards us, 
because of our interest in the Temperance reform, and especially 
for our once signing a memorial to the County Commissioners, 
expressing the opinion that the licensing of dramselling would 
not subserve the public good. But we have never regretted the 
part taken by us in the Temperance reform ; and we now rejoice 
in the blessed consummation in said town, in that, though there 
are doubtless a few individuals dissenting from this position, it 
has already come to pass that tlie town meeting has unanimously 
voted the truth of the same doctrine to which we subscribed our 
name some number of years ago. Brethren in Maiden, ' hold 
fast that which is good.' " 

In bis speeches upon Temperance Mr. Cobb seldom, if 
ever, sought to amuse his hearers ; and he never essaj^ed 
to create smiles by presenting the subject of intemperance 
in any of its funny lights. He always treated the subject 
in solemn seriousness, and made his appeals directl}^ to 
the heart and understanding. He neve£_, attempted to set 
an audience agape with wonder b}^ drawing pictures that 
never had foundation in fact ; and he never allowed him- 
self to burst forth into wild, senseless tirade a'gainst any 
class of his misguided fellow-men ; but he spoke calmly 
and deliberatel}^ sometimes warming into zealous invective 
against the giant wrong, and severely denouncing those 
who sought to fasten that wrong upon the community. 

There was one quality in Mr. Cobb as a reformatory 
speaker which peculiarly fitted him for the work. Under 
no circumstances could language be drawn from him in the 
heat of debate which he would wish to tone down upon 
after reflection ; and the result of this was, that he could 
never be moved from positions once assumed. He pos- 
sessed qualities which would have constituted him a most 
excellent Judge. He never expressed a decided opinion 
until he had given the subject in hand a critical investiga- 



THE MEMOIR, 



353 



tion ; and, moreover, his intuition was constitutionally 
Ileal thj^ and reliable. The very ponderosity and calm truth- 
fulness of his arguments rendered it impossible for him to 
produce one of those pretty, poetical, flowery speeches 
which delight an audience for the time being, but which im- 
press upon the mind no ideas that can be carried home for 
after study and profit. He aimed not so much to elicit 
present response of applause as to fasten upon the mind 
wise and serious maxims of life that should grow and bear 
fruit in the time to come. Even in ordinary conversation 
he was guarded by this same principle. He seemed to 
regard spoken words as so many indices of the mind by 
which a man is liable at an}^ time, and under any circum- 
stances, to be judged. 

The duties and labors consequent upon the publication 
of his paper did not prevent Mr. Cobb from laboring in the 
Temperance field as before. He was of course obliged to 
relinquish his agency of the Middlesex Count}^ Society ; 
but instead of his usefulness being diminished it was rather 
augmented, for not only did his paper, with its healthy 
Temperance doctrines, find its way into families all over 
the land, but he was able to extend his circuit. He did 
not confine his labors to the rostrum. It was his custom, 
and his j)leasure, to visit families where he thought his 
words of warning or of cheer would be productive of good ; 
and he also visited those engaged in the traffic in spirit- 
uous beverages, endeavoring to win them over to a better 
life by reason and argument ; and I know that in several 
instances he was the direct means of the quiet closing of 
bars where the death-dealing poison had been sold. Dur- 
ing his long term of service in the Temperance field he was 
more than once threatened with personal violence b}^ those 
who fancied he was infringing upon then- liberties ; but 
30* 



354: 



HEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



never a hand was laid upon him, and never a successful 
attempt made to interrupt him while speaking. When 
there chanced to be any show of unmannerly obtrusion by 
the rum influence through its unfortunate devotees, as was 
sometimes the case, he generally managed to turn the bat- 
tery against those who had brought it upon, the field. 

One instance of the kind which occurred about thirty- 
three years ago, I will relate. 

Mr. Cobb had been announced to deliver a lecture on 
Temperance in a town not far from Lowell, and as it was 
known that he was a strong pleader for the establishment 
of such laws as were needed to protect society against the 
evil, the rummies had reason to fear his influence. They 
did not object to the lecturing of those who were content to 
let the rum-traffic have the protection of the statutes ; but 
they liked not the idea of having their business branded by 
legal enactments, so they thought it would be good policy 
to "choke off" this lecturer. One of their number made 
his boast that he would " shut Mr. Cobb's mouth so that 
he could not speak," and a number of his friends were pres- 
ent to witness the fun. 

Now it so happened that the man who had made this 
boast was one who, when free from rum, was industrious 
and kind-hearted, and who, moreover, had a respectable 
share of pride in his composition. On the evening in ques- 
tion he entered the meeting-house, where the lecture was to 
be given, and took his position in one of the side aisles, 
about midway between the door and the pulpit. He was 
well-dressed, and would have had the appearance of a gen- 
tleman had it not been for the flushed face and unsteady 
mien which betrayed the domination of the old tyrant al- 
cohol. 

Mr. Cobb, as was his habit, swept his eye over his audi- 



THE MEMOIR, 



355 



ence as lie arose, to mark the spirit with which he was to 
be received. He had been so long in the field, and had had 
so much experience in reading the character of an assembly 
at a glance, that he seldom failed to discover the where- 
abouts and intent of enemies, if any such were present. 
Almost the first thing that attracted his attention was the 
man standing in the aisle, and in a moment more he dis- 
covered a pew full of red-faced men who seemed to be look- 
ing to this individual as though for approaching sport. He 
saw it all while yet he was making his introductory re- 
marks, and with shrewd judgment he calculated about what 
sort of force he had better hold in reserve to meet the exi- 
gency if it should arise. 

The lecturer commenced, and ere he had proceeded far 
the man in the aisle raised his voice to dispute one of the 
speaker's statements, upon which Mr. Cobb simply repeat- 
ed the statement, and went on. Again, and again, did the 
intruder interrupt the lecture, finally using language vulgar 
and abusive, whereat the red-faced men in the pew were 
greatly delighted. At length two gentlemen arose, and 
started towards the abusive interloper for the purpose of 
removing him, and as this movement was made there was 
considerable excitement among the female portion of the 
audience in anticipation of trouble. 

At this juncture Mr. Cobb, with one of those efibrts 
which never failed, commanded silence, and in a moment 
all eyes were turned upon him to see what he would do ; 
and while the audience, rummies and all, were on the qui 
vive to know what would be the result, he raised his hand 
towards the gentlemen who had started to put the annoy- 
ance out, and, with a pleasant smile, and in a tone of hu- 
morous honesty, he said, — 

*' Gentlemen, I hope you will not deprive us of the help 



356 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



which our opposing friends have inadvertently lent us. 
The surgeon, when lecturing to his class on the science of 
anatomy, finds it very convenient to have a subject upon 
which to demonstrate the lessons he would enforce. So we 
have before us a living subject, and if you will give your 
attention you will see it practically demonstrated how rum 
can abuse those who use it as a beverage." 

At the close of these remarks all eyes were turned from 
the speaker to the ^Hiving subject,'^ and that misguided in- 
dividual, totally unable to bear the gaze of so many, and 
feeling that he had suffered himself to be led into a position 
of disgrace and humiliation, shrank down as far out of 
sight as possible, and during the remainder of the lecture 
was one of the most attentive listeners. 

The demonstrative " subject " was withdrawn, but the 
episode proved a happy one to both the lecturer and his 
audience, and much good resulted from it. And it is safe 
to conclude that the hero of that occasion never afterwards 
attempted to " shut up the mouth " of a temperance lec- 
turer. 

What Mr. Cobb might have done if an opponent had 
attempted to lay violent hands upon him I cannot say. I 
saw him once, when he was in his prime, and his muscles 
all in tune, cast a vicious horse upon the ground as I would 
have shaken off a troublesome child. But I can say that 
the man who thought to overcome him by any strategy of 
debate or indecent interruption, assumed a task not easy 
of accomplishment. 

In taking a survey of the results of Mr. Cobb's labors in 
the Temperance field we shall find that there are men who 
have induced more signers to the Pledge than has he ; and 
so there are men who have created more enthusiasm for 
the hour, and called more hearers to hang upon the elo- 



THE MEMOIR. 



357 



quence of their lips, and listen to their quaint sajdngs and 
startling anecdotes. There are men who, coming up them- 
selves from the di^eadful pit, have been able to picture the 
evil as he could not picture it, and lead old companions up 
from their slough by a bond of S3rmpathy which he could 
not reach. But I think no man has done more towards 
educating the people up to a proper understanding of the 
gi-eat principles involved, and in leading them to a safe 
and healthy stand-point. In short, for the blessing of that 
mighty power which bears down upon Intemperance through 
the ballot-box society is indebted to no man more than to 
Sylvanus Cobb. 



358 



REV. SYLVANUS CO£U, D.D. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Mr. Cobb in his Sanctum, — Visit to a Great-great 
Uncle, — Retrospective. 

Mr. Cobb \was now fairly at work as a publisher and 
editor, and from the issuing of his Prospectus, in 1839, to 
the close of his editorial labors, he left no stone unturned 
beneath which could be found anything that might be 
worked up for the moral, social, religious, or intellectual 
benefit of his patrons. He had not only travelled exten- 
sively over the country, and seen the wants of our denom- 
ination touching information upon the stirring topics of the 
day ; but he had also made himself acquainted with the 
tastes and desires of the youthful members of the commu- 
nity, as well as with the likes and fancies of the children. 
So, in makiug up his paper, he took under consideration 
all these various needs, and governed himself accordingly. 
The result was that the Christian Freeman soon became a 
pleasant and cherished visiter to the family ; and there 
were cases where the head of a family would propose to 
stop it on account of its Temperance or Anti-Slavery fea- 
tures, when the wife and children stepped in to oppose the 
giving up of so pleasant and entertaining a companion. 

Many of those friends who professed, and probably felt, 
a deep interest in Mr. Cobb's pecuniary welfare, advised 
him to give up his advocacy of these peculiar reforms ; but 
he had no disposition to profit by such counsel. His posi- 



THE 3IEM0IR. 



359 



tion had been taken ; with humble recognition of his duty 
to God and to his felIowmen,.he firmly believed that he 
was right ; and no consideration of self-interest could be 
presented strong enough to swerve him from the course 
which his sense of Right and Justice had dictated, and to 
which the holiest instincts of his heart gave sanction. 

During the year 1840, and the first months of the suc- 
ceeding 3^ear, Mr. Cobb labored zealously for his paper, 
travelling much over the country, lecturing and preaching, 
and obtaining subscribers. I can remember that he was 
upon the move continually, and by reference to his Journal 
I find that he was hard at work all the time. He knew not 
what it was to be idle, for both his natural inclinations and 
his necessities kept him busy. His paper, though its cir- 
culation was quite extensive, was not yet self-sustaining ; 
or, at all events, it yielded yet not a penny for the support 
of himself and family, so he was forced to work early and 
late — to work wherever and whenever he could. He pub- 
lished his paper upon the credit plan, and he was furnish- 
ing hundreds of papers every week for wliich he had re- 
ceived no pay. As he entered upon the second year he 
found numerous patrons neglecting him — taking his paper 
to their families, and enjoying its freight of good things, 
but forgetting to pay up. Mr. Careless, of Notown, knew 
that he had entered upon an unpaid term ; but the amount 
due from him was only two dollars, and that could not 
amount to much either way, — paid, or unpaid. But the pub- 
lisher had to pay the paper-maker every week ; or, at least, 
every month ; and also the help in the office had to be paid. 
He wanted five hundred dollars which he did not possess ; he 
needed it, and have it he must. Now by referring to his 
books he finds that there are, even in this second year, five 
or six hundred of these Messrs. Careless, owing him, in 



360 



EEV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



the aggregate, over a thousand dollars. What shall he do? 
They are scattered all over New England, and he can 
reach them only through his paper. Why — he must do 
the best he can. He must not offend his patrons too 
frequent duns ; so he must borrow to meet an emergenc}", 
and then drive off upon a lecturing tour ; and he must 
remain out, too, until he has earned money enough to help 
him over the trouble. 

In the Autumn of 1840 Mr. Cobb visited the place 
where his ancestors first found a home upon this side of the 
ocean, and as the visit was one of peculiar interest to him, 
and cannot fail of interesting the reader, I copy his account 
thereof from the Freeman of Nov. 20th, 1840 : —- 

"Last Sunday I had the privilege of preaching in Kingston, 
Mass., the land of my forefathers. Here I met with a goodly 
number of intelligent and practical believers in the great salva- 
tion ; and we had happy meetings. After the afternoon meet- 
ing, I called at the ancient mansion, which was the residence 
of my great-great-uncle, Ebenezer Cobb, who lived to be nearly 
a hundred and eight years old. I had heard, from my parents 
and others, so much said of the old patriarch, that my visit to 
the mansion he inhabited was attended with sensations similar 
to what would be excited in Christian pilgrims on visiting the 
scenes celebrated in Scripture history. 

" The old gentleman was celebrated for his cheerful piety ; and 
several anecdotes of him illustrate his cheerfulness of disposi- 
tion. On his hundredth birthday, he had a sermon preached at 
his house, called his Century Sermon. Mr. Willis, who, I 
believe, is yet living, was minister in Kingston at the time, — but 
he being quite young, it was thought by the sons, some of whom 
were nearly eighty years old, that it would be more suitable to 
get Parson Robbins, of Plj-mouth, the old gentleman's former 
minister, to preach the Century Sermon. This they did. After- 
wards the young parson Willis gave some intimation that he had 
expected to be called upon for that service. ' Well, well,' said 
the old man, 'it was my boys' doing. But never mind ; when I 



THE MEMOIR. 



361 



have my next Century Sermon preached, you shall be called 
upon.' 

"He had been blind for some time, though his bodily health 
was good. He walked out with the company after the services, 
and remarked with much sang froid, ' I cannot see an honest 
man among you all.' 

*' It was common in these daj'S to associate much gloom with 
religion, and religionists were prone to put on a melancholy 
tone in conversing with old people, who were nigh the tomb. A 
young preacher called upon the old man, and in a doleful pitch 
of voice asked him what he thought of dying. He, not well 
relishing such airs, familiarly replied, ' It is seldom that a man 
of my age dies.' 

"When the minister of the place was, on a Lord's day, cat- 
echising the children after the meeting, and had made progress 
in the old Primer lesson which begins with, ' Who is the first 
man ? ' as he came at length to a little girl with the question, 
' Who was the oldest man ? ' she pertly answered, ' Gran'ther 
Cobb.' The risibles of the minister were so excited by the 
answer, that he could not correct her, and he let it pass. 

"I was happy to find the old homestead in the hand and occu- 
pancy of the direct descendants, being grandchildren, one of 
whom was thirty years of age when the old saint died, which 
was about forty years ago. They conducted me into ' the great 
room ' in which the Century Sermon was preached, pointed ,out 
the spot where the Parson stood, and the way in which the com- 
pany with the patriarch took their walk. I was interested also 
with examining a relic of antiquity, a large chest, with much 
panel and carved work, brought from England by my forefather, 
six generations back, who came over in the next vessel that 
came after the Mayflower. 

"I find in Kingston much of that true politeness which is 
found in the simple and friendly puritanic manners. And the 
gospel of God's boundless love, so congenial with the friendly 
and peaceable mind, is making advances among them to do 
them good." 

Among the sources of satisfaction and comfort which 
were Mr. Cobb's to enjoy in the midst of his arduous 
labors, none were more inspiring than were the items of 
31 



362 REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

intelligence that came to him from various quarters, of the 
growth and prosperity of the denomination which he so 
fondly loved, and to the upbuilding of which he had 
devoted so much of his time and strength. In the month 
of March, 1841, looking back over the years he had spent 
in Massachusetts, he made the following entry in his 
Journal : — 

"When we came into this State, and settled in Maiden, thir- 
teen years ago next month, the old Orthodox parish in that 
town, being at that time converted to a Universalist society, 
there was hardly another Universalist society in the Common- 
wealth, having a Meeting-house and constant preaching, except- 
ing one in Haverhill, two in Gloucester, one in Salem, one in 
Charlestown, three in Boston, one in Cambridgeport, one in 
Roxbury, and one in Lowell. Since then there have been 
Meeting-houses built, and constant worship established, as fol- 
lows : one in Woburn, one in Medford, one in South Reading, 
one in Andover, one in Marblehead, one in Essex, one in New- 
bmyport, two in Danvers, two in Lynn, two in Boston, one in 
Quincy, one in Weymouth, one in Hingham, one in Hyannis, 
one in BreM^ster, one in New Bedford, one in Waltham, one in 
Holliston, one inFramingham, one in Marlborough, one in West 
Cambridge, one in East Cambridge, one in Methuen, one in East 
Lexington, one in Concord, one in Spencer, one in Barre, one in 
Petersham, one in Stoneham, one in Lowell, one in Wrentham. 
These we have put down upon a hasty run of the mind over 
the State, doubtless missing some new houses where constant 
worship is support^^d. Then there are many places where, 
within the above-mentioned time, Meeting-houses formerly occu- 
pied by other sects, have fallen into the persuasion of Univer- 
salists, where constant preaching is enjoyed, and where new 
Meeting-houses have been built by newly gathered societies, 
who have the preached word a portion of the time, and where 
societies have been raised, who have not a Meeting-house, but 
worship a portion or all of the time in some place temporarily 
engaged for the purpose. Besides, two of the old societies first 
named have torn down their old Meeting-houses, and built new 
ones, several have remodelled their places of worship at con- 
siderable expense. And our societies are generally in a more 



THE MEMOIR. 



363 



active and flourisliing condition than the few, even, were for- 
merly in. 

" Yet there are some whose ears are very pleasm'ably tickled 
by hearing statements from certain pulpit declaimers, of what 
nobody believes, that Universalism is fast declining ! ! When 
will they cease to ' glory in their own shame ? ' " 

Surely his labor was bearing fruit, not only in the 
denominational field, but in other fields upon the soil of 
which he had cast good seed. And so he labored on, 
cheerfully and hopefully. The times were coming, he 
thought, when he should be able to sit down and rest. It 
was hard then ; but it could not be always so. He saw 
gleams in the horizon which told to him of the coming of 
a brighter day — a day in which he should be called to toil 
onl}^ for the love he bore his fellowmen — when the toil- 
ings of the other years should have yielded him a compe- 
tence, enabling him to render cheerful and inviting the 
patriarchal home where his loved ones should find always 
sweet rest and refuge while the}^ lived. Home was to him 

<<**** * t;]ie sphere of harmony and peace, 
The spot where angels find a resting-place, 
When, bearing blessings, they descend to earth." 

A blessing to him, in those days of labor and trial, was 
the hope that sustained and led him on ; and I doubt if 
there are many men who enjoy more in the realization of 
hope's full fruition than was his to enjoy in the anticipa- 
tion. It made him buoyant and strong, for qyqyj blow he 
struck was towards a cherished purpose. 

" Hope, of all passions, most befriends us here ; 
Passions of prouder name befriend us less. 
Joy has her tears; and transport has her death; 
Hope, like a cordial, innocent though strong, 



364 



REV. SYLVAKUS COBJi, D.D. 



Man's heart at once inspirits, and serenes; 
Nor makes him pay his wisdom for his joys; 
'Tis all our present state can safely bear, 
Health to the frame, and vigor to the mind ! 
A joy attemper'd ! — a chastis'd delight ! 
Like the fair summer ev'ning, mild and sweet ! 
'Tis man's full cup; his paradise below ! " 



TME MEMOIR, 



865 



CHAPTEE VII. 

Removal to East Boston, — The " Castle of Peace," 
— The Bath-House, — Its Story, — Ups and Downs of 
the Society, — Sunday School, — A Glance at the 
Inner Man. 

In the early part of the year 1841, and towards the close 
of the second volume of the Christian Freeman, Mr. Cobb 
made up his mind that it would be for his interest to re- 
move from Waltham, and take up his abode in Boston, 
where, in the time to come, must of necessity be the centre 
of his business area as a publisher. That " New House " 
had never been wholly paid for, and the thought that such 
a debt hung upon him, the payment of which must swallow 
up money that ought to be used for the advancement of 
the interest of his paper, worried him more than he was 
ever willing to confess. In fact, he never confessed to any- 
thing's worrying him ; but those who loved him, and sym- 
pathized with him, could plainly see when these unpleasant 
burdens weighed upon him ; for there are certain involun- 
tary^ muscles underlying the delicate integument of the face 
which will respond to the action of care upon the mind in 
spite of all a man may do to conceal it. The human face 
may well be termed " a mirror of the soul," for every man 
possessing a liviug soul, in which great emotions find birth, 
must, to a greater or less degree, look the things he feels. 

The Freeman prospered — perhaps as much as its pub- 
31* 



366 



REV. STLVANUS CGBB^ D.D. 



lisher had anticipated ; but in another quarter his antici- 
pations were not realized, of which I will speak presently. 

In his issue of March 19th, 1841, Mr. Cobb speaks to 
his patrons as follows : — 

"We have concluded to remove our Printing Office into Bos- 
ton, and to take up our residence in that city, about the time of 
the commencement of the third volume of the Christian Free- 
man , which will be the first of May next. 

"Several considerations have concurred to determine us to 
this step. 1. As the list of our patrons, and consequently the 
business of publication, is increased, we find a growing incon- 
venience in having our residence, and our press, so far from our 
city office. 2. We are quite sure that we can increase the value 
of the paper by having it published in the city, and residing 
there. 3. Many of our esteemed friends who feel an interest for 
the prosperity of our enterprise, for the sake of the common 
cause, have expressed a desire for such an arrangement. 4. 
The new, and the present growing Society in East Boston, de- 
sire us to live and labor with them in word and doctrine. * * 

" The change here announced will include an entirely new con- 
tract for the publication, and it hereby becomes indispensably 
necessary that we should settle up all old affairs, to be able to do 
which we must receive all arreages on our paper. It is earnest- 
ly requested that all subscribers who owe for the past or current 
volume, or both, should send in their due immediately. Breth- 
ren, do not wait to have your bills sent ; you know what is due. 
Send it on, and it shall be faithfully put in order on our books. 
If you have not an opportunity to send by private hand, get 
your Postmaster to forward it. Where it is more convenient, 
pay to our Agent in your respective towns. Agents will prompt- 
ly forward this business of collection, &c. 

" Let us be able to say to the world in a few weeks, that all 
the Subscribers to the Christian Freeman and Family Visiter, 
are PAXmG SUBSCRIBERS." 

I have reproduced this appeal of Mr. Cobb to his sub- 
scribers, in connection with the notice of his intended re- 
moval, for the purpose of ofiering a few remarks upon the 



THE MEMOin. 367 

subject of those anticipations of his which had not been 
realized. This was the first instance, I believe, in which 
he had made an earnest appeal to his subscribers to pay 
up. In arranging his business, and making his expendi- 
tures, he had based his calculations upon the supposition 
that those who took his paper would pay him for it. In 
taking a careful survey of the field, and comparing his ex- 
penses with his resources, he found that, if his subscribers 
exercised towards him anything of the spirit of the Golden 
Eule, he should come out all square at the end of the year. 
He could sell his comfortable house in Waltham, together 
with the twelve-acre lot, for just about enough to make him 
square with the world, leaving him the possessor of his 
household furniture and clothing, and just material enough 
of books, and types, and cases, and presses, to enable him 
to get out his paper. He had paid in part for his house ; 
but more than that had been swallowed up by the publica- 
tion of the Feeeman, so that when he came to receive the 
price for his real estate, and had paid his debts, he had not 
a penny left which he could appropriate to the building or 
purchase of another habitation. In fact, a combination of 
circumstances conspired to render his pecuniary situation 
at that time anything but pleasant. 

And now, ye delinquent subscribers — men of means and 
of ability — whom Mr. Cobb so earnestly entreated to come 
up to the line of simple duty and justice, and pay the pal- 
try sums you owed, do you know that the only real cloud 
that ever settled down, dark and chilling, over his life, arose 
from your neglect? Do you know how many da3^s, and 
weeks, and months, of anxiety and unrest you gave him ? 
If you do not, I can tell you. First, I tell you truly, had 
you paid him promptly for the papers he sent you he would 
have been relieved from all trouble in the management of 



868 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



his business. Had the money from his subscribers, when 
due, been forwarded through the mail, or by the hand of 
some friend coming to Boston, he could have sat quietly 
and peacefully at his desk, throwing all his energy into his 
paper ; but you did not so bless him ; you neglected him, 
and he suffered. When he should have been resting from 
labor, he was at work the hardest. Here comes a note, in 
bank, due to-day. He borrows of a friend, hoping that ere 
the week is out remittances enough will come in to enable 
him to meet it. The week passes, and the remittances do 
not come. Then he goes to a broker and hires the money 
to refund what he had borrowed of his friend ; and then he 
drives away over the country to collect of his subscribers, 
— two dollars here, and two dollars there, and elsewhere 
two more, — and so on, over a wide territory, to scrape to- 
gether the needed sum. Sometimes luck would be against 

him. Stopping at L , or at S , he looks at his 

pocket memorandum, and finds that on the second or third 
daj^ from that another note in bank becomes due. To col- 
lect the amount is impossible ; protest he must not allow, 

so he borrows the amount of a friend in L , which he 

promises to return in one or two weeks. And in the end, 
worn and weary, he reaches his home, and the prospect 
before him has not grown much brighter. The friend in 

L must be paid, and the money coming in by mail will 

not more than pay the help. One more appeal to the de- 
linquents ! 

" O ! if my subscribers would but pay me what they 
owe, how happy I should be ! " So utters the perplexed 
editor, in travail of soul ; and he wonders how it would 
seem to have those who were indebted to him, all pay him. 
But he has no time, nor has he the disposition to repine. 
He must down at his desk, and write his editorials ; and 



TRB MEMOIR. 



369 



in order that this maybe done well, all perplexing thoughts 
must be driven from his mind. 

And here we have a glimpse at the only source whence 
ever arose even a whisper of just complaint against any 
thought or act of Mr. Cobb's life. Why may I not speak 
of it, and speak of it frankly and freely, now that we have 
it directly before us ? . 

Bills that must be paid come crowding in, and the friend 

in L does not get his money until a month has passed, 

and perhaps a longer time. And the friend in L is not 

the only case of the kind. His is a representative case. — 
Had it been an ordinary business-man who had neglected 
thus to pay a debt — especially of borrowed money — not 
so much would have been thought of it ; but for a clergy- 
man — a preacher of the gospel — thus to do, is deemed 
very strange, and various remarks are made thereon. 

Ministers are never judged by the world upon a plane 
with other men. They are held in a " cross light," as it 
were, and specks are discovered and mai'ked which would 
have remained unnoticed in the character of another. And, 
moreover, in this unfair light not only ai^e these tiny motes 
rendered palpable to sight, but small errors seem large, 
while large ones become distorted into monstrous propor- 
tions. 

But enough of this. The good man has gone, and on all 
the earth he has not left a man unpaid to whom he justly 
owed anything. Judge him ye who will, in what light 
pleasethyoubest, and ye shall find nothing laid up against 
him. 

But O, ye delinquent subscribers ! How shall j^e be 
judged? What balm of healing can reach your souls? — 
what excuse have ye to offer ? How can you undo what you 
have done ? — how do that which ye neglected to do in the 



370 



EEF. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



day when sore need pressed hard upon him whom j^ou owed, 
and whose heart might have been made to leap with ^oy had 
ye but given to him of your abundance the simple sums 
that were your dues ? 

Mr. Cobb moved with his family to East Boston early in 
May, renting a house in " Locke's Block," on Sumner St., 
which he occupied three years, when he removed to a large, 
new house, on the corner of Webster St. and Belmont 
Square, which he had erected for himself. The location 
was one of the finest on the Island, commanding a view 
of the harbor, with its islands and distant shores, and also 
overlooking most of the territory of the Island itself. In 
this enterprise he was more fortunate than he had been 
with the building enterprise at Waltham. He obtained the 
land at a ver^^ cheap rate, ha^dng two good house-lots left 
after he had erected his own dwelling, which in time he 
sold at an advance of some two hundred per cent, over the 
price he had paid. And this was his home ; and when he 
had become settled in it, and had full}^ assured himself 
that it was his own, only to be taken from him by some 
event beyond his power to control, he planted here his 
vines, and set up his household gods, being determined 
that upon this pleasant and attractive spot his "hours at 
home " should be spent for the remainder of his life. And 
his plan was realized. In this " Castle of Peace "* he 

* The dwelling of Mr. Cobb received this appellation at an early day, and dur- 
ing the later years of his life, when his childi-en had grown up, and were often 
gathered beneath the old roof-tree with their children, there came to be some- 
thing of solemn and happy significance in the name, and by «uch it was generally 
known and designated among a wide circle of friends and acquaintances. It 
originated as follows : One bright, moonlight evening, while residing in Mai- 
den, Mr. Cobb's theological students held a meeting under the giant Sycamore in 
the door-yard, and dedicated the dwelling of their teacher, consecrating it to the 
Genius of the Domestic Virtues, and bestowing upon it the title — " Castle of 
Peace." As this testimonial name was a tribute to the household rather than 
to the mere house which had been buUt with hands, Mr. Cobb bore it with him 



THE MEMOIR. 



371 



found a home during twenty-two years ; and they were 
years crowded with the most stirring and eventful labors 
of his long and useful career. 

The Society at East Boston was young and small ; but 
there were warm hearts and willing hands, and Mr. Cobb 
took hold with them, willing to labor, and share with them 
the work of building up. There were some genial spirits 
in the gathering, and the seasons of social intercourse were 
refreshing in the extreme. When the Island was hardly 
yet thought of as a place of settlement for business men, a 
large and commodious hotel, called the " Maverick House," 
had been erected as a summer resort, and a healthful board- 
ing-place for those who miglit wish to avail themselves of 
a transient home of the kind so near to the city. Connected 
with this hotel had been constructed a house for bathing 
purposes ; but as the business of the establishment did not 
long require the bathing-house, this latter building was 
appropriated to other uses, and was finally hired by the 
Universalist Society as a place for worship. It was a neat, 
pretty building, centrally located, and though of humble 
proportions when compared with the costly churches that 
now surround the spot where once it stood, j^^et it was 
sufficient in every respect, and I opine that never was God 
more devoutly worshipped than he has been by the children 
of his grace who have assembled there, with united hearts 
and tongues, to do him reverence. 

Mr. Cobb preached for the Society several times during 
the winter of 1840-41, and in the spring of the latter year, 
by the unanimous request of the members, he became their 
settled pastor. Under his ministration the society grew 

to his new habitation ; and no one could have spent a day, or a year, beneath 
that roof without being willing to acknowledge that never was a title more fitly 
bestowed upon a family mansion. 



372 



REV. SYLVAN US COBB, B.D. 



and flourished, and during the succeeding j-ear, deeming 
the hall too small to accommodate the increasing numbers, 
the society erected a new and commodious house of worship 
on the First Section. In the spring of 1844 Mr. Cobb re- 
signed his charge. His other duties pressed so heavily upon 
him that he felt he could not give to the societ}^ the time and 
attention they needed, so he took this step, not oul}^ that 
he might find more time for the improvement of his paper, 
but that the society might find a pastor who could devote 
all his time to their interest. 

The Society engaged a pastor ; but, from various causes, 
the interest died out, and finall}^ the house was given up, 
and the meetings were discontinued. Mr. Cobb could not 
bear to see this ; so he set himself about the work of gath- 
ering together the scattered flock, and himself assumed the 
responsibility of hiring Ritchie Hall, and preaching for 
whatever the friends could contribute. It was in the spring 
of 1846 that he took this step, and once more the Univer- 
salists of East Boston were blessed with stated meetings. 
Ritchie Hall was thus occupied about eleven months, when 
the place became unpleasant from the uses to which it was 
put during the week, and while the friends of our cause 
were considering what they should do, another religious 
society, that had been holding meetings in the Old Bath 
House, moved out from that place, and the Universalists 
secured it, and in the spring of 1847 returned to the scene 
of their earlier life. 

And in that old Bath House were held some of the most 
glorious meetings ever enjoyed by the professed followers 
of Christ. The writer of these pages was at that time 
Superintendent of the Sabbath-school, and also Leader of 
the Choir, and he well remembers the soul-inspiring pas- 
saeres of social and reli<?ious interest that must ever sane- 



THE MEMOIR. 



373 



tify the memories of that humble place in our hearts. The 
noble preacher in his homely desk, surrounded by earnest 
and inquiring listeners, who had come to gain gospel food , — 
the grand sermon, preached with a spirit of warm and ar- 
dent love of the subject, and with a patriarchal regard for 
the hearers ; — the prayer, solemn, sincere, and impressive, 
and responded to by every heart; — the singing, tuneful 
and prompt, but with no attempt at flourish or grandilo- 
quence of style ; — and then the benediction, followed by 
a scene of hand-shaking, congratulation, and outpouring 
of fraternal love and good-feeling ; — and this scene of 
social re-union was generally enlivened by an impromptu 
passage of music in that corner where the choir was located. 
The writer, with his violin, striking up the good old 

Ode on /Science," or Majesty " ov JSforihJield," which 
was an unfailing call to the patriarchs of song — those who 
had been singers in days lang-syne — and gathering around 
the dais they would raise their voices in jubilant strains 
till the old structure seemed one vast organ, with its grand 
diapason in full blast. " Father Pettengill," — " Uncle 
Waters," — and many others of silvered locks and furrowed 
brow. Where are they now? O, for one more meeting of 
the good old sort in that humble Bath House ! But the 
wish is vain. Its hallowed walls were long since swept 
away by the resistless hand of progress, and an imposing 
structure of massive stone now occupies the place where 
our loved Bethel stood ! 

And here I must speak of the Sabbath- School ; for not 
many, I ween, even in East Boston, are aware of the 
amount of influence for good which has been wielded by 
that School. Mr. Cobb established it very shortly after he 
moved upon the Island, and with the assistance of his own 
family, and those of the friends who felt an interest in the 
32 



374 



BEV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



matter, it was very soon put into good working order ; and 
from that time to the present, the East Boston Universalist 
Sabbath School has never ceased to live and labor ; and it has 
ever ranked one of the highest in point of faithfulness and 
interest, among the schools in the cit}^ ; and I believe that 
there has never been a time, from the date of its inception, 
when some member of Mr. Cobb's family has not been 
connected with it. Through all the trials and troubles of 
the Society, the Sabbath-School has kept evenly and qui- 
etly on its wa}^, affording opportunity for all who desired, 
to meet on the Sabbath, and listen to the breathings of that 
faith which holds God as the Universal Father and Friend. 
In seasons when the Society has been entu'ely dormant 
for months at a time, this band of Universalist Christians 
has been awake to the needs of the people, and the mem- 
bers thereof have never fallen short of their duty. So 
we may regard the Sabbath-School as the vital centre of 
our denominational sj^stem upon the Island, to which the 
present Societ}'", with all its prosperity and promise, is 
indebted for its existence. 

Mr. Cobb continued to preach in the Bath House through 
the Spring and Summer of 1848 ; and he did it at a pecu- 
niary sacrifice to himself, as the writer well knows. The 
Society was small and weak, rich in gospel faith, but poor 
in this world's possessions. It had not jQt recovered 
from the sad blow given by the mismanagement of those 
who had built the Meeting-house, nor was it likely to 
recover therefrom for some time to come. Mr. Cobb, 
when he commenced this second term of engagement with 
them, had been actuated solely by a desire to subserve the 
good of his own family, as well as the good of the few 
tried and faithful ones who were anxious to listen to the 
word of the Universal God. He assumed the responsibil- 



THE MEMOIR. 



375 



ity himself, and preached for just what could be saved t> 
him after all other expenses had been paid. But in Au- 
gust the owners of the land upon which the Bath House 
stood had planned to move it away, and erect another 
building upon the site. There was no other room v/hich 
could be obtained upon terms that came within reach of 
the means of the Society, and Mr. Cobb found it necessary 
to dissolve his connection with them once more. 

In the Freeman of August 11th, 1848, after speaking of 
the matter as above, annnouncing that the Bath House was 
to be moved away, Mr. Cobb adds, — 

"Yet there are lovers of the gospel here, who, when the pres- 
ent pressure is removed from the business of the countr}^ will 
provide a convenient place of worship, and build up a good 
society. We shall obtain the services of some worthy young 
man, who can devote his whole attention to the wants and inter- 
ests of om- cause here, as it is meet. As our responsibilities are 
in the care of our paper, we have only been able to supply them 
on the Sabbath, devoting to the society here no pastoral care in 
the week. This we have done at a pecuniary sacrifice, for the 
sake of having meetings. But on a new start, upon the work 
already done, and in better times, they must and will support a 
laborer in the work." 

And in this connection I must give a letter which Mr. 
Cobb wrote to his wife at the time this suspension of his 
relations as pastor was under consideration. I give the 
letter for several reasons. In the first place, it will show 
the feelings which actuated him in his proposed movement, 
and demonstrate how his heart was in the subject, and how 
carefully he weighed such matters before determining upon 
his course of action. And then the letter gives a glimpse 
at the inner man ; it reveals the spirit — the soul — of the 
workman, and opens up some of those traits of character 
that made him what he was — pure in thought and honest 



376 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



in purpose. And it shows, too, why such a man is loved 
by his family. Those things which a man does to be seen 
of the world may not be a truthful index to his character ; 
nor can we always accept what a man writes for the world 
to read as a true impress of his inner thoughts and motives. 
If we would know a man for what he is, we must see him 
at home, where his native spirit has full play, and where 
the restraint of society is removed ; and if we would get at 
his innermost thoughts and emotions, we must find access 
to his private letters — letters which were never meant for 
the eyes of the world, but which the writer believed would 
never be perused by another than the loved and trusted one 
to whom they were penned. 

I shall have occasion to present several of these private 
morceaux of correspondence, not for any literary merit, nor 
as indices of his style of composition, either in prose or 
verse ; but simply as mirrors of his mind and heart ; and 
as such the reader will take them ; and, when read in that 
light, I am sure they will be grateful and refreshing to all 
who have hearts to feel, and souls that can be led to sym- 
pathize with that which is pure and true and good. 

Here is the letter to which I have referred, and I give 
the first part of it entire, that the reader may gain an idea 
of Mr. Cobb's manner of doing business. Be assured, he 
never spent many idle moments when away from home : — 

''NoHh Scituate, R. l.,Aug. 12, 1848. 

"Mine Estimable Wife, — 

" You have already learned that I am to preach in Phenix, or 
rather in the Arkwright School-House, to-morrow. I hired a 
team at Arkwright this morning, and took a ride to this place, 
nine miles, to fill out the week. It is a small factory settlement. 
My faithful Agent, Br. Cowee, said he did not think I could get 
another subscriber, as he had tried quite thoroughly, and there 



THE MEMOIU. 



377 



were not more than one or two Universalists in tlie place who 
were not akeady taking the Freeman. However, I told my 
story, and he went through the mill with me ; and I got three 
new subscribers, who paid me ; and I sold four of my Compends, 
and six Family Singing Books, making ten dollars and fifty 
cents. So much cash I have received here, besides one dollar 
for a Compend sold on the way this morning. It is now eleven 
o'clock, and I am going to write here in Br. Cowee's house until 
dinner-time, and after dinner I shall ride out two miles to a man 
who owes for the Freeman, — and perhaps to find one or two 
new subscribers, — and then I shall return to Phenix. 

" And now to the subject of my letter : I was greatly cheered 
by that little note which you placed in the bundle you sent me. 
It contained but a few words, and yet those words are of great 
value to me. To get, warm from your hand — ' We are all loell 
and happy,'' and that inspiring ' Work on,'' and ' Hope on, liope 
ever,'' — is a cordial to my soul, and strength to my bones. And 
to learn, too, that you had got over that little nervous affection, 
gives me much pleasure. 

" And now, my love, I see clearly that we have great reason 
for thankfulness and peace. My matters, to be sure, are in a 
situation to require some six months of continued attention to 
my out-door business ; but then I do not make it laborious nor 
unplea;sant. I am constantly among excellent friends, and am 
prospered, and take such methods of getting about as render it 
comfortable on my part, — much more so than running about the 
city to borrow money. And when I can feel that you are happy 
at home, I am certainly one of the happiest of men. I am im- 
pressed with the idea that the Lord has much good for you and 
me yet to do in this world, and we can afford to devote a few 
months to the persevering mission I have planned, which is not 
even unpleasant in itself, for getting into a situation still more 
desirable. 

' ' I perceive that it is well that I am to terminate my regular 
supply at East Boston, for there seems to be a prospect of as 
much preaching out as I shall wish, upon better compensation, 
and perhaps to do more good. All right. It will be quite a re- 
lief to you, too, and give you more time to devote to your de- 
partment of the Freeman. 

" The Freeman is the favorite paper all through this region. 
32* 



378 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



Let us keep up its interest. Look well to short and instructive 
Physiological articles. 

"My whole-souled wife, how should I have known certain 
noble traits in your character, if we had not been brought through 
circumstances requiring us, together, to ' WorTt, on ? ' Would 
those traits have even been developed ^ — traits which will ever 
be more valuable to me than silver and gold. And you, too, 
have a sphere in which to ' work on.' Well — ' work on,' ' keep 
cool,' ' hasten slowly,' and HE who has always been with us 
will not forsake us. You will enjoy the satisfaction of reflecting 
that even the coming upon the stage of that ' little fretting Eu- 
nice Hale Wait' will effect not a little for turning the world over. 
True, you find human nature among mankind, and that is just 
what it is our province to cultivate. We shall not at once make 
it over anew, but we are to keep on cultivating, cultivating, 
and making some spots of it a little, and yet a little better. 

" But now the factory bell rings for dinner, and I will susj)end 
my scrawling to you till after meeting to-morrow. 

''Sunday morning. — Good morning. Wife! I have just 
shaved, and put on that dicky with the wife's rich salutation. It 
makes me feel at home.* I went out yesterday afternoon as I 
said. That man paid me two dollars, and two others paid me 
two each, making $16.50 at that place. Then on my return to 
Arkwright one paid me two dollars who subscribed on Wednes- 
day, and two others bought Compends, making $20.50 taken on 
Saturday, besides the Compends sold in the morning, which went 
on horse-hire. It is a pleasant morning. The Lord bless us 
to-day ! 

" Monday morning. — Good morning, my dear wife. We had 
good meetings yesterday. I preached at Appanaug, where I 
now am, at five-and-a-half o'clock. Am well this morning. 
Going to East Greenwich to get a few subscribers to-day. Shall 
get home, I think, about Wednesday, just to stop over night. 
All right. Kiss Jimmy for me. Love to Sarah. 

"Yours ever, S. Cobb." 

* It was Mrs. Cobb's custom, when packing up her husband's change of linen 
on the eve of his departure from home, to imprint a kiss upon the clean dicky, 
remarking as she did so, "There, hubby, you'll find wify's kiss when you put 
that on." To some such things may appear light and frivolous in print ; but to 
such the most holy and soul-cheering of all the domestic virtues would be but 
as the senseless breathing of the passing wind. 



THE MEMOIR. 



379 



The Bath House was no more ; the Universalists of East 
Boston lay back awhile from their labors, waiting for the 
spirit to move them ; while their relieved pastor, as we 
have seen, had no lack of work, and no disposition to be 
idle. 



380 



HEV, SYLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



CHAPTER Yin. 



James Arthur, — Getting Subscribers, — Virtues of 
EvERY-DAY Life, — Death of Mr. Cobb's Mother. 



Mr. Cobb was not disappointed in the result of the re- 
moval of his office to Boston. He was more easily accessi- 
ble to those of his subscribers who wished to see him, and 
in every way he found the conducting of his business more 
convenient ; also, being thus located in the great social 
and commercial centre of New England, he was enabled to 
gather more fully and readily such items of news as would 
be of interest to his patrons. And, furthermore, the name 
of Boston as the hailing-point of his jDaper, bore a prestige 
which was of no small benefit to him in the labor of intro- 
ducing the Freeman into new localities. It was pleasant 
to be able to introduce the suppliant for popular favor as a 
" Boston Paper," for people are more apt to give respectful 
attention to a missive emanating from " head-quarters," 
than to one hailing from some out-post. "Where local inter- 
est is the chief feature, a paper may well be located at the 
most accessible point within the area whose interests are 
to be subserved ; but when a publication claims to repre- 
sent an interest of a large section of country, it seems emi- 
nentl}^ proper that its head-quarters should be established 
at the general emporium of said section. In this removal 
the publisher took a wise step, and he never had occasion 
to regret it. 



THE MEMOIR. 



381 



In the preceding chapter I carried to its close Mr. Cobb's 
connection, in his capacity as pastor, with the Universalist 
Society of East Boston ; but it will be borue in mind that 
there were warm and ardent connections of friendship with 
the " tried and true" of the old society that could be sev- 
ered only by the hand of death. During his pastorship 
there were many social gatherings — ' Levees, Picnics, Tea- 
Parties, and the like — gotten up for the benefit of the soci- 
ety, which gave birth to fraternal feelings that were not 
to be extinguished by any unfavorable breeze that might 
drive said " Society" out of its proper course. Through 
all the remaining years of his life he regarded that society 
as a child of his own, and though, upon gaining its legal 
majority, and starting out into the world to act for itself, 
it did not always meet with success, yet he loved it, and 
was never backward in extending a helping hand in its 
seasons of need. Once, as we have already seen, when it 
had " set up for itself," and had expended all its substance, 
he took it back, and carried it through a season of social 
and religious enjoyment and profit as pure and inspiring as 
ever fell to the lot of any body of Christians. And there 
is no telling how long he might have continued to bear the 
burden had not solemn duty to himself and family required 
him to drop it. I have heard of children who did not know 
their own parents, and have not wondered thereat ; but I 
should marvel greatly if the Universalist Society of East 
Boston should ever forget the faithful patriarch who led 
them up out of the wilderness, and set their feet upon the 
promised land, giving to them the heritage of the glorious 
Truth of God's Universal Fatherhood, and his plan of Uni- 
versal Redemption through Christ Jesus his Son. 

The reader of the Autobiography has had the account of 
the birth of eight children to Mr. Cobb, the last — twins — 



382 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



having been born on the sixth of August, 1834. On the 
22d of December, 1842, another — a boy — the ninth child 
— was added to the number of the household, and he was 
christened James Arthur. 

Since writing the preceding paragraph I have been over- 
hauling some old letters to see what the parents said about 
this child at the time. I was then in the U. S. Navy, 
cruising along the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, and, 
as a matter of course, was kept duly informed of all that 
transpired at home. I have found the letters, and have 
read them over. I find much about the " sweet babe," but 
I will not put it in print. I will simply say that the father's 
heart swells with pride and gratitude, and that he grows 
jubilant over this new addition to the flock he has to care 
for and to love. The impress of the mother's soul in 
written words is too sacred to be transcribed here. The 
treasure to her was beyond all price — a gift of Heaven, so 
pure and lovely, that words could not tell her emotions. 
She tried to tell to her first-born, who was separated from 
her by the trackless waste of a broad ocean, something of 
the ecstatic joy that thrilled her soul as she held to her 
bosom that new-born pledge — her youngest, and, in its 
utter dependence, her dearest. It was a precious gift, 
highly prized, and most carefully nursed. And now, with 
the light of subsequent events illumining the page, I am 
able to say that that youngest child was given to be the 
most precious of all the treasures of the household. His 
it was to perform a mission of love on earth — his to lead 
the way to Heaven ! His it was to form the last link of 
love in the family — his to form the first link in the bright 
chain of heavenly birth that lifts us towards our G-od ! 

The boy James Arthur grew and thrived, and when I 
reached the old home in the Spring of 1844, I found him 



THE MEMOIR. 



383 



(there is no fraternal prejudice in this) one of the bright- 
est, best, and most attractive boys I ever saw. He was 
most emphatically " a light and a joy in the household." 

In looking over Mr. Cobb's record of events for the 
year 1842, I notice that during the month of January of 
that year he had a fit of sickness which lasted him about 
two weeks. He was in Walthara on the last Sunda}^ of 
December, and was taken quite unwell there ; but he came 
home strong in the faith that it was only a slight cold, 
which a single dose of Thompson's medicine, and a night's 
nursing, would drive away. He was mistaken, however. 
On Tuesday he took his bed, and remained there nearly a 
fortnight. But let it be understood that the sickness did 
not tie his hands. His pulpit was filled by another ; but 
his editorial labors were not set aside, save for one or two 
days when he was the sickest. A number of articles came 
from his pencil, written while bolstered up by pillows. I 
have given this event particular notice because sickness 
was something so unusual with him. In a note, appended 
to an article pencilled for his paper while thus confined, he 
says, — 

"We will here add, that during the twenty-one years, and 
over, that we have been in the ministry, this is the second 
Sunday on which we have been prevented by sickness from 
preaching. We have more to be thankful for than we gratefully 
realize." 

During the year 1842 Mr. Cobb labored hard to increase 
the circulation of his paper ; and he did not labor in vain. 

The year 1843 opened with prospects fair, and to him 
very promising. His paper was becoming popular, and its 
circulation was on the increase. He received a sharp punch 
low and then, accompanied by a distressed growl, from 



384 



HEV. SYLVANUS COJBJS, D.D. 



brother editors and publishers who fancied he was tres- 
passing upon their territory. Occasionally he took a trip 
into a neighboring State where there might chance to be 
located a Universalist publication ; and as it was a passion 
with him — the getting of new subscribers — he never 
failed, on such occasions, to make additions to his list ; 
whereupon the local editor would read him a severe lecture 
upon the impropriety of such trespass. But this never 
troubled Mr. Cobb, further than to give him an unpleasant 
conception of his brother's character for whining and 
fault-finding. 

He made it a point — and one from which I believe he 
never deviated — never to present the claim of his paper to 
patronage at the expense of another. He never sought to 
obtain a subscriber when by so doing he would lead a man 
to stop any other Universalist publication. But he claimed 
that each paper should stand upon its merits, and that 
every man should have the privilege of taking and reading 
just that paper which suited him best. For himself he 
claimed no exclusive field. It was his earnest desire to 
spread a knowledge of the Truth, both Social and Kelig- 
ious, Civil and Political, and wherever man dwelt in igno- 
rance or in need, there was his field. He cared not how 
many canvassers tramped over the ground in Massachu- 
setts. If they could present a better Universalist paper 
than the FiiEEMAisr, then they had the advantage ; if they 
could not, then his subscribers would not be liksl}^ to for- 
sake him. He was honorable in all his transactions, and 
he would have spurned as an act unworthy of him an 
underhanded deal of any kind, and much more a deal 
which could militate against the interests of an honorable 
competitor. 

Here is a heart-throb, the tuneful echo of which reached 



THE MEMOIR. 



385 



his wife by mail about this time. He was at Wellfleet 
when he wrote : — 

** My dear Wife, — A pleasant morning this. I am in fine 
health ; meet with many good friends, and with a variety of in- 
teresting scenery ; but I am, in the midst of all these things, get- 
ting to be somewhat lonesome, — and I may as well out with the 
truth of it as not. I want to meet the beaming countenance of 
that wife, and of those blithe and happy children, and to mingle 
in the loved and loving domestic group. I can go out, and 
work,' and get along very well for two or three days; but soon 
the world becomes uninteresting, a lonesomeness of spirit comes 
over me, and I long for home. And home never tires. Tptere 
is the living, gushing spring of the real, genuine, unfailing 
pleasures of life." 

So much, with a few items of business, was written at 
Wellfleet ; but as no mail went from that place on the day 
of writing, he took the letter with him, and finished it in 
Provincetown, in part as follows : — 

" My mind has been a little less troubled with lonesomeness 
since I commenced my letter, the scenery becoming more and 
more interesting as I neared the end of the Cape. And this 

morning What a treat ! As I was sitting down to breakfast 

a young lady handed me a letter which a boy had just brought 
from the Post Oflace — a letter from the Castle of Peace. I 
opened it, but found that I could not, with propriety of appear- 
ance, read it before folks, and so "laid it on the table." After 
finishing my breakfast I went away by myself and perused the 
precious document. How rich am I in such affection, of such 
a wife and such children ! And that blessed boy out upon the 
sea ! God be praised that our prayers for his safety and weal 
are being answered. May the good seed which we ever en- 
deavored to implant in his youthful mind bear abundantly of 
heavenly fruit. How I long for his return ! But I will patient- 
ly wait." 

And now a peep at the close of the letter just to see how 
33 



386 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



he is keeping up that old S3^stem of work. Look at his 
correspondence where you will ; pick up his diary, and 
open to any page ; refer to any week, or day, of these 
j^ears, and we shall find the same note of preparation, and 
always in the midst of labors being performed. No rest ; 
no respite ; no recreation, save such as he could gain upon 
his travels ; his one source of comfort and recompense 
through it all being " Home, Sweet Home." Thus he closes 
the letter : — 

*' Sunday Noon. — We have had a fine meeting this forenoon. 
This afternoon I am to deliver a funeral discourse on occasion of 
the death of Br. Stull ; and a lecture in the evening. I intend 
to start at about five o'clock to-morrow morning, that I may get 
over the beach to Truro before high water, and breakfast at 
Esquire Small's of that place. To-moiTow evening I am to lec- 
ture on Temperance at Orleans ; Tuesday evening, preach in 
Yarmouth ; and Wednesday evening, lecture on Temperance in 
Sandwich. Then, on Thursday, I will hie me home. 

" I have more ink, and a little more time for writing; but I 
must devote it to editorials for the Freeman. * * * 
" Your devoted husband, 

"S. Cobb." 

If I could only hold the wrist of my reader in my hand, 
and feel when the pulses began to weaken and flutter from 
a surfeit of any particular kind of food, I might know just 
when to change the course ; but as such a source of dem- 
onstration is beyond my reach, I must be governed by my 
own feelings and instincts ; and I am thus admonished to 
give an extract from another letter. There is something 
to me peculiarly refreshing and invigorating in these out- 
pourings of devotional sentiment from the heart of a pub- 
lic man. I claim that Mr. Cobb was emphaticall}^ a Good 
Man, and the reader who calmly and candidly peruses these 
pen-prints of the soul will not fail to see where we base 



THE MEMOIR. 



387 



our claim. And, furthermore, the young man, just taking 
upon himself the duties and responsibilities of husband and 
father, and who is preparing to step forth into the world 
for the battle of life, cannot fail to be benefited by these 
things. Mark not only the cherished love of family and 
of home, but also mark the child-like trust in God, and the 
devout reliance upon His almighty power and goodness. 
They spring to life as naturally in his soul as spring to life 
the fragrant flowers beneath the warm sunshine and dewy 
kisses of June. The spirit which thus finds expression in 
the most retired and common-place passages of life — which 
thus mirrors itself in a correspondence meant only for the 
eye of one who knew him as well as he knew himself, — 
could not be else than pure and humble. There could be 
no deceit, no hollow sounding of words ; but only frank and 
honest expression of real feeling ; — no parade of language 
and fine sentiment, meant for the conference or iDrayer 
meeting, introduced to fill up a place in the set services of 
a Sabbath evening's exercises, to be forgotten on the 
morrow when the busy din of secular life comes on ; but 
living, operating, and ever-present emotions, forming com- 
ponent parts of the every-day life of the man. 

♦'Wrentham, April 16, 1843. 

**My very dear Wife, — 

** Rising in good spirits on this blessed Sabbath morn, after 
lifting up my soul in devotion to the Lord of the Universe, I next 
sit down to commune with that being whom I honor most in this 
lower world. In this ' lower world,'' I say ; for we hve in a world 
so named, but ' our citizenship is in heaven.' Our minds, in a 
measure, grasp the beauties and the joys of the two worlds. 

"Wife, will you indulge me with an occasional expression 
of what passes in my mind every day ? I query every day 
whether I sufficiently appreciate the value of her who is strewing 
my path of life with flowers j in my absence conducting the 



888 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



affairs of so large a family with judgment and propriety ; and on 
my return, and in my presence, cheerful and happy — no reflec- 
tions ; no complainings ; no envying of other people's estates ; 
pleased and satisfied with a numerous, healthy, and happy 
family around you; the bounties of a munificent Providence; 
valued friends with whom to interchange the civilities of life ; 
and a plenty for us all to do, to keep us out of mischief and mel- 
ancholy ; making the great good of life to consist in the cultiva- 
tion of pure sentiments and affections, and the exercise of high 
and enlightened principles, rather than in the vapory gew-gaws 
of style and hollow etiquette, never failing to sympathize with, 
and to cheer and encourage, a devoted husband, in his many, 
but pleasant, cares and duties, public and private. Yes, — I do 
think that I form some just estimate of the value of such a life- 
companion. And you will pardon this free expression of senti- 
ment from me, which I make for you, and not for the world. 

Ever your devoted husband, 

"S. Cobb." 

And had Mr. Cobb lived to finish his Autobiography, the 
world would never have seen " this free expression of sen- 
timent." He would never have opened those old budgets 
to expose their heart-gems ; and the most tuneful and 
tender of all his written epistles might have passed from 
remembrance when the " life-companion " for whom they 
were penned, had gone to join him in the Better World. 
It is a fact in human nature that those virtues which are 
born in a^ man — which are a part of his very being, and 
which remain by him as do the features that mark his coun- 
tenance, or the form that distinguishes his physical frame, 
are very apt to be held by him in light esteem when com- 
pared with virtues which are his through trial and victory. 
He seems to forget that the common virtues of domestic life 
are not so universally exercised as they ought to be. Those 
little proprieties and courtesies of every-day life, which go 



THE MEMOIR. 



889 



to make up the joy of the household, are so sUght and un- 
obtrusive in their blessed office, that they seem to be held 
as matters of course, which every man will gather for him- 
self, and which no man, professing the religion of the meek 
and lowlj^ Nazarine, would neglect. Mr. Cobb, with all 
his travel, and consequent opportunities for observation, 
never fully realized how far above the ordinary level of 
mankind he stood as regards the social and domestic vir- 
tues. Always ready and willing himself to recognize the 
blessings which had been bestowed upon him, and to render 
proper gratitude therefor, he was inclined to think that 
others did the same ; and if he found a man unmindful of 
the joys of home he fancied that that man's home had no 
elements of brightness in it. 

O, how few seem to fully appreciate these little things 
of the Home Life that go to make up so vast a sum of 
weal or woe ! What tiny motes they are, and yet how 
freighted with momentous consequence ! A man with a 
pebble no larger than the half of a poor little pea in his 
closely-fitting boot is as surely deprived of comfort as 
though he had a mill-stone hanged about his neck. And 
so a tiny mote, of no more import than a single harsh, 
ungrateful word, or a frown, or even a chilling look, may 
make the whole day as dark and uncomfortable as though 
a blow had been struck, or a volley of curses had been 
poured out upon the home altar. 

Not many men were as free from these little vices and 
improprieties of home life as was Mr. Cobb ; and I claim 
that this freedom from those much too common evils, with a 
possession of the virtues of purity and propriety in his 
domestic relations, was the chief corner-stone, or starting- 
point, if I may so speak, of his whole character as a man. 
He would have felt like blushing had he handed one of 
33* 



390 



hev. sylvanus cobb^ d.d. 



those old familiar, lover-like epistles to the printer ; but not 
so his son. I honored and revered my father in that he 
was good and kind ; and in all the traces of character he 
has left behind him, none speak so directly, and so forcibly 
and unmistakably, of his native purity and goodness of 
heart as do those messages of love and blessing, coming 
warm and impulsive from the husband and father to the 
wife and children. 

In the month of June of this year (1843) Mr. Cobb 
received intelligence of the death of his mother. The fol- 
lowing is an extract of the letter from his brother inform- 
ing him of the event : — 

** NORWAT, June 23, 1843. 

** Dtila.r Brother, — 

*' It has become my duty to inform you that our justly-ven- 
erated mother is no more. She departed this life yesterday at 
30 minutes past 4 p. m. 

"She has been quite calm, patient, and resigned during her 
illness, which at times has been very distressing. She seemed 
desirous to have all her children with her, and mentioned that 
she should have been glad to have seen you, but observed that 
she supposed that your engagements were such that you could 
not leave home. 

" During a few of her last days, she was unable to speak 
much owing to canker in her mouth ; she spoke of the Saviour, 
as the one altogether lovely, and was heard reciting, ' Fly 
swifter round, ye wheels of time, and bring the welcome day,' 
&c. In the fore part of the day (yesterday) she appeared to 
be in great pain and distress for some time, but became to 
appearance quite easy, and her desire that she might gently fall 
asleep in Jesus, seemed to be granted. Her exit appeared like 
falling into a quiet and peaceful sleep ; there was not a struggle, 
nor a groan, nor anything that indicated distress. To-morrow 
at one o'clock p. m. is the time appointed for her funeral." 

In this bereavement Mr. Cobb did not experience a sense 



THE MEMOIR. 



391 



of horror, nor of painful tribulation. There was no rend- 
ing of the heart-strings, as is the case with those who have 
educated themselves to look upon death as the "King of 
Terrors," and upon the grave as "a gulf of dark uncer- 
tainty." That glorious faith which he had been preaching 
so many years for the guidance of others in affliction, he 
found equal to his own wants on this sad occasion. The 
following remarks he penned for the Fkeeman, and they 
accompanied the letter from his brother in publication : — 

" It was the same in this case as on the death of my father, — 
we received the letter bearing the tidings of the event, on the 
day of the burial. Could I have been informed of the event, or 
of the probability of it, in season, how speedily would I have 
gone to mingle tears of sincere affection with the other mourn- 
ing children, and to devote the last offices of respect to the 
remains of a most worthy and venerated parent. Yes, and how 
gladly would I have responded to her wish to see me with her 
other children, that I might there have received a dying mother's 
blessing, and there with a child's gratitude and love, I might 
have added a glow of comfort to the last hour of a mother in 
whose life I have never known a wrong feeling, word or deed. 
But I knew not to be there. All her other surviving children 
were there; and more than all, the blessed Saviour was 
there. 

*' Her age was 83 years, 6 months, and 6 days. She attained 
to a good old age, — and her memory is blessed. Much of the 
good which her children find in life, they may justly ascribe to 
a mother's influence." 

During the month of September following Mr. Cobb 
visited the old homestead in Norway, then in possession 
of Cyrus, the oldest living brother, and while there he 
wrote to his family a letter from which I make the follow- 
ing extract : — 

"I arrived at this place last evening, and sit now in the room 
where I have always hitherto, on my annual visits to the pater- 



392 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



nal mansion, met my worthy and venerated mother. How 
lonesome it now appears. O that spirit of maternal love, dig- 
nity, sweetness of disposition, kindness and affection, which has 
always lived and presided here. May its mantle be cast 
upon me. 

" But though that pleasant countenance I see not, and that 
voice which rocked the cradle of my infancy, and by the law of 
kindness guided my juvenile steps in the way of peace, I hear 
not now, yet I seem to feel her presence here. Her gentle 
spirit seems to whisper, ' I have only gone to a higher, a better 
abode, to greet thy father, and brother, and sisters, who had 
gone before ; — and we will greet you in due time, where mor- 
tality shall be swallowed up of life.' 

" All things around here, except the vacancy just mentioned, 
appear as usual. The genial suns and refreshing rains have 
blessed the peasants' toil, and are crowning them with abun- 
dance. The fields are loaded with profusion, and the wide- 
spread scene is clothed with beauty." 



THE MEMOIR. 



393 



CHAPTEE IX. 

Transfer of the "Gospel Messenger," — Progress of 
THE Denomination, — Anti-Slavery Pesolutions, — 
A Domestic Morceau, — Compend of Christian Di- 
vinity. 

During the month of August, 1843, Mr. Cobb purchased 
the subscription list of the "(rospeZ Messenger^'* a Aveekly 
denominational paper which had been published in Provi- 
dence, P. I., by Pev. A. A. Davis. By this transfer the 
Freeman found its way into hundreds of families where it 
had not before been known, and those who had thus become 
subscribers to that paper by a business arrangement with 
which they had had nothing to do, were sure to find an 
honest and earnest expression of the Editor's views upon 
all the great and important topics of the day ; and if anj^ 
of them disliked his course upon the subjects of Temper- 
ance and Slavery, they were at liberty to withdraw their 
patronage. 

There had come a change, however, over the disposition 
of the denomination touching these reformatory matters 
since the establishment of the Christian Freeman ; and 
the editor thereof was beginning to see the fruits of his 
labors in rich abundance. It was a source of glorious sat- 
isfaction to him that he had opportunity to show to his 
timid brethren and co-workers that his original stand, so 
firmly adhered to, had been the right one. 



394 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



Dear Reader, at this stage of my work I find that in order 
to bring these memoirs within the compass of a book such 
as would meet the taste and wants of the public, I must 
study and practise the art of condensation. In showing 
how the denomination gradually lifted itself up towards 
his stand-point I would like to present in full the proceed- 
ings of the councils and conventions, giving the Anti- 
Slavery resolutions adopted, and quoting the remarks of 
other editors thereon. But I cannot doit. The documents 
and extracts are before me, and the most I can do is, to 
take a cursory glance at them as we pass on. 

On the 21st of September, 1843, the United States Con- 
vention of Universalists, in session at Akron, Ohio, consid- 
ered and discussed, calmly and candidly, a series of Reso- 
lutions declaring that the enslavement of the African race 
in this country was wrong, " pernicious alike to the en- 
slaved and the enslaver," and " contrary to the plainest 
dictates of natural justice and Christian love ; " and, further- 
more, that " in the light of the doctrines of Christ we feel 
constrained to bear testimony against the institution of 
Slavery as maintained in a portion of our country." These 
resolutions were adopted without one dissenting vote. 

Upon the passage of these resolutions, and the publica- 
tion of the fact to the world, Mr. Cobb took occasion to 
compare them with a series of resolutions which he had 
presented to the Massachusetts State Convention of Uni- 
versalists, at New Bedford, in 1840, and which " were 
rejected on the ground that it would peril the peace and pros- 
perity of the denomination to adopt them; and an interest 
was made to get a vote that thej^ should not even go upon 
the published minutes of the convention ! " And yet these 
resolutions presented by Mr. Cobb, in 1840, were not a 
whit more outspoken against Slavery than were these which 



THE MEMOIR. 



395 



the United States Convention had adopted. And in this 
connection Mr. Cobb reproduces the objections Tvhich were 
made by some of his brother editors to his purpose when 
he started his paper, and contrasts them with the spirit 
which those same editors now manifest in support of the 
doings of the General Convention. Only a few years be- 
fore they had denounced his course as " dangerous to 
the peace and prosperity of the denomination," and now 
they not only publish these Anti-Slavery resolutions, but 
appear proud of the fact that the denomination is openly 
and publicly committed to such sentiments. 

Furthermore, Mr. Cobb quotes from a secular paper an 
article in which the Universalist denomination is highly 
praised for the noble stand it has taken upon the subject of 
Human Liberty and Justice ; and he has the satisfaction of 
seeing our denominational journals copy this same article 
with various comments of pleasure and satisfaction. One of 
those editors, after quoting the article in question, says, — 
" The secular presses are beginning to do justice to the 
much belied and abused Universalists." 

" Dear man," answers Mr. Cobb, that is because we 
have just gone about doing justice to ourselves." And then 
he goes on to show how long and earnestly he has been 
laboring to bring the denomination up to the work of put- 
ting forth its moral strength, and developing the beauty 
and glory of its principles." 

Surely the editor of the Christian Freeman had cause 
for rejoicing ; and by these bright gleams of sunshine upon 
his path was he lighted on in his course of duty, feeling 
that while he was right he must conquer. Most men would 
have faltered beneath the load he bore upon his shoulders ; 
but when he beheld the glorious results of those labors 
which had been put forth in behalf of Human Freedom, 



396 



EEV. STLVANUS COBB, B.D. 



how could he let fall his end of the beam ? His paper had 
become a power in the denomination, and a power in the 
land ; and though he was forced to struggle with all his 
might to meet the demands that were made upon his purse, 
he chose to do it rather than fall back just when the first 
notes of victory were sounding over the land. O, if his 
subscribers had only paid him what they owed, how happy, 
how blessed, would have been his lot ! But they were 
many of them thoughtless, and left him to struggle on while 
they reaped the benefits. But let it be understood that 
there were some grand good men and women who took the 
Freeman — men and women who made it a rule to pay 
promptl}^ in advance. Their names are on record, and I 
know they must be a happj^ and prosperous set. 

As a parent Mr. Cobb was most indulgent and most gen- 
erous, — indulgent in all things that could conduce to the 
real hai^piness of his children, and generous to the extent 
of his means ; and there have been times when his great 
love has led him to do more than those means could war- 
rant. He never made an aimless present to any of his 
loved ones, nor did he ever give merely to satisfy a craving 
for some new thing. His gifts were always chosen with 
an eye to some real benefit, and he sought, as far as possi- 
ble, to combine improvement with pleasure ; and I am sure 
that no mortal was ever happier than was he when he had 
succeeded in giving a real joy to his household. As I have 
had occasion to remark before, these little gems of domes- 
tic life — these gleams of light that flash upon the atmos- 
phere of home, leaving a genial warmth in their train, — 
give most surely the spirit of the inner man. A mass of 
great, gaudy flowers cannot make such a bouquet as a lover 
of floral beauty would contemplate with satisfaction. The 
regal peony, the double-dyed dahlia, and the gorgeous. 



TRE MEMOIR. 



397 



fi'agi'ant rose, are beautiful in their places, and have their 
appropriate sphere in the bouquet ; but after all you shall 
find that the delicate riolet ; the unassuming pansj^ ; the 
tiny forget-me-not ; and the shrinking bud, just open 
enough to reveal the beauties of the hidden petals, are the 
features that will require the most delicate arrangement, 
and upon the proper distribution and exhibition of which 
the whole thing will depend for its consummation of grace 
and perfection. And so it is with the human character. 
Great deeds, such as are generally published to the world, 
and are caught up and passed from lip to lip, show verj^ 
much of what stuff a man is made ; but if you would look 
down into the soul, and find those graces of disposition and 
gems of the heart that lift the man heavenward, you must 
take note of these delicate, unassuming, tiny flowers that 
bloom in the secret places of home, without pride, and with- 
out thought of being seen of men. 

My thouglits have been turned in this direction by the 
following poetical morceaiix. The first is from Mr. Cobb 
to his daughter on the eighteenth anniversary of her birth- 
daj', accompanied by six golden half-eagles : 

IMPROMPTU ACCOMPANIMENT. 

My Daughter ! What a name to write ! 
It fills me with a proud delight. 
Respectful, intellectual, pure, 
Nought shall thy soul from virtue lure. 

Herewith a little gift you'll find, — 
Emblem, instructive, of your mind. 
More rich, be sure, than gold by weight, 
The mind, uprising, good and great. 

To Miss E. H. Cobb, from her father — 

Sylyanus Cobb. 

E. Boston, April 15, 1845. 
34 



398 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



To this the affectionate daughter thus replied : — 

" Lines addressed to my Father okt receiving from him six gold pieces 
AS A Freedom Present." 

With heartfelt pleasure I receive 

This token of thy kind esteem ; 
Highly I'll prize this gift of thine, 

And may I not ungrateful seem. 

But richer far those words to me 

Which speak such confidence and love; — 

My utmost aim — my prayer — shall be. 
Deserving of such love to prove. 

As thus through life I travel on, 

In virtue's path, with nought to fear. 
To Crod my voice shall be attuned 
In blessing for such parents dear. 

From your daughter, 

Eunice H. Cobb. 

CoMPEND OF Divinity. — In the old Parsonage Library 
at Maiden Mr. Cobb found a musty volume, written b}^ 
some follower of John Calvin, the title of which contained 
the word " Compend." It was a Compend of some kind of 
religious tenets ; but at this day I am unable to give more 
explicit information, as my only knowledge of the book has 
been derived from remarks I have heard my father make. 
When Mr. Cobb had looked the work over he thought what 
a good thing it would be for the Student of Universalism 
to have a book, something after the same style, giving a 
thorough and concise epitome of the principles of our 
faith. There was no such work in the denomination, nor 
was there anything in the least approximating thereto. 
He felt this need the more directly as he had man}^ students 
under his charge, fitting for the ministrj^ ; and in explain- 
ing to them the various parts of our system of theology 



THE MEMOIR. 



399 



such a book would not only have saved him much labor, 
but the student could more readily and clearly have grasped 
a knowledge of the principles sought after from a concise 
and comprehensive work which he could have studied at 
his leisure. From that time Mr. Cobb resolved that if he 
ever wrote a book, it should be a Gompend of Christian 
Divinity as he understood it, and as the leading Univer- 
salists had taught it ; and thenceforth, when sermonizing, 
anxl when writing theological articles for the press, he held 
this thought in view, so that when he finally came to the 
work of preparing the manuscript for the book, he had much 
of the material already at hand.* 

In the Spring of 1845 Mr. Cobb went at the work in 
earnest, and by the close of the year the book was in press. 
It made a handsome duodecimo volume of more than four 
hundred pages, and was ready for delivery on the first of 
January, 1846. The work met with a reception which 
could not be otherwise than flattering to the author. Those 
Universalists who had occasion for a book of reference in 
argument with their Trinitarian opponents, found it just 
what they needed ; while the student and the preacher 

* While residing in Waterville, Me., Mr. Cobb conceived some such plan as 
was perfected in this work. He took for his motto the words of Isaiah : " To 
the law and to the testimony .- if they speak not according to this word, if is 
because there is no licjht in them.^' And under this general head he went on 
with his work. He commenced at the first chapter of Genesis^, and went tlii-ough 
the Old and ISTew Testaments, to the last chapter of Revelation, taking up first 
the subject of Creation, and then proceeding in regular order, taking up each 
important subject of the Divine Record, aud considering it in the light of those 
grand principles of Wisdom, Power, and Goodness which all Christians are 
willing to ascribe to Deity. In accomplishing this he preached about eighty 
sermons, the result of most unremitting toil, study, and research, displaying a 
power of keen perception and subtUe analysis, which surprised even those who 
knew him most intimately. When the course had been concluded some of those 
who had heard the whole were most anxious that the sermons should be pub- 
lished in book form, feeling assured tliat the work would be one of inestimable 
value to the then inlant denomination. Had Mr. Cobb acceded to this request, 
the world would liave had even then something very nearly approximating to 
the " CoMPKND OF Christian Divinity." 



400 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D,D, 



found it a companion of much value. Father Ballou and 
Father Streeter each took occasion to write for publication 
an extended and critical article of hearty approval and 
commendation. Father Ballou says, — "Could I have 
been favored fifty years ago with this Compend of Divin- 
ity, how light would have been my labors to what they 
were." Father Streeter sa3"s, — "I know of no single 
work which surpasses it in value to the common student 
of Christianity." The press throughout New England 
gave favorable notice of the work, and so far as its recep- 
tion by the public was concerned, the author's highest 
anticipations were more than realized. 

I well remember that when Mr. Cobb had seen the last of 
the manuscript of the Compend in the hands of the printer, 
he promised himself a respite from arduous labor ; but his 
" respite " must have consisted in the thought that a labor 
which he had contemplated for years had been accom- 
plished ; for I remember perfectly well that he turned 
directly from the printer's proof of his book to other work, 
taking not one additional hour from the twenty-four for 
social or physical recreation. 



THE MEMOIR. 



401 



CHAPTER X. 

Characteristics as a Cosmopolitan, — Death op his 
Brother Cyrus, — Transfer of the "Gospel Foun- 
tain," — Characteristics as an Editor, — The one 
Great Victory of his Life, — Universalist Reform 
Association, — Speeches, — A Political Anecdote. 

By referring to the record I find that Mr. Cobb was con- 
tinually upon the move during the year 1846, and the first 
half of 1847, and that many of his trips bore important 
results. He preached in many new places, and delivered 
many lectures upon reform subjects in different parts of 
New England. I find him one week in Connecticut ; an- 
other in Rhode Island ; the next in New Hampshire ; and 
then off" down upon the banks of the Penobscot, preaching 
in Bangor, and delivering a Fourth of July oration in 
Orono. It would be pleasant, if we had time and space, 
to follow him in some of these peregrinations ; but as they 
have little to do with the matter I am anxious to present, 
I shall pass them by with the simple remark that he en- 
deavored "to do good ^nd to communicate" wherever he 
went, holding the good of the community paramount to 
any selfish end, and striving to return to the Master a good 
account of the talents which had been entrusted to his 
keeping. 

I cannot forbear mentioning in this connection, that dur- 
ing the many years of Mr. Cobb's extensive and continu- 
34* 



402 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



ous travelling he never, to my knowledge, met with direct 
insult from any person. In some few cases, while acting 
as agent of the Middlesex County Temperance Societ}^ he 
may have received some hard words from those whose craft 
was in danger from his teaching ; but even in those cases he 
never left a man until he had succeeded in touching a more 
sensible cord in his bosom. His own deportment was al- 
ways kind and gentlemanly towards all, and he was never 
in his long life, from early boyhood to the day of his death, 
so heated by passion from any cause whatever as to be led 
to make use of an opprobrious epithet, or vindictive re- 
joinder, to an opponent. To use a common expression, 
" He alwaj' s carried a civil tongue in his head." He re- 
garded no man for his worldly wealth or honor. It was the 
internal, and not the external, qualifications of a man that 
recommended him to his favor and esteem ; hence he was 
led to regard every man, no matter how humble his appear- 
ance, as good and true until circumstances had proved the 
contrary. His religion was not to him a mere form of be- 
lief and profession ; but it was an absolute and defacto 
power of life, giving tone to his thoughts, and direction to 
his steps. No matter how torn and tattered the rags that 
covered a child of humanity, — if he was an honorable man, 
reduced by misfortune, he was no less a man on account of 
his poverty ; and if he was a fallen brother, sunk in the 
slough of sin and shame, Mr. Cobb's religion taught him 
to stop by that man's side, and put forth a helping hand. 
A man so governed in his daily life would not be likely to 
excite any one to wrath or vindictiveness ; and as he never 
chanced to come in contact with a frenzied maniac or prowl- 
ing highwayman, he lived his life without being called upon 
to meet any grievous assault, either by way of opprobrious 
speech or personal violence. 



THE MEMOIR, 



403 



On the eighteenth day of November, 1847, Mr. Cobb's 
elder brother Cyrus, who, it will be remembered, had taken 
the old homestead, met with an accidental death by falling 
from one of the high beams of his barn. He had not only 
been a true and loving brother, ever extending a warm and 
cheerful welcome to those who came to visit the paternal 
mansion ; but he had been one of the most valued and hon- 
ored citizens of the town of Norway, trusted with impor- 
tant offices, and looked up to for advice and counsel in the 
conduct of municipal affairs. He left a widow and four 
children to mourn his loss, and a cloud of sadness settled 
upon the hearts of the people, which remained for a long 
time. 

I took the letter from the post-office which bore this mel- 
ancholy intelligence, and on the way over in the ferry-boat 
I read it. I found my father in his study when I reached 
home, and I remarked, as I handed to him the missive, that 
his brother Cyrus had been called to his rest. I knew that 
between the two brothers there had ever existed a warm, 
enduring love, based upon firm and unyielding devotion, 
and I wondered how my father would take the news. He 
read the letter carefully through ; not a muscle of his face 
betraying any spasmodic action within ; then he laid it 
down, and turned towards me. There was a movement of 
the lips, but no speech. In silence he arose to his feet, and 
paced to and fro across the floor several times, until finally 
he stopped by my side. Then he brushed his hand across 
his eyes, and in a voice scarcely raised above a whisper he 
said, — 

" He was a good brother, — a true man. God will bless 
him ! " 

And he suffered himself to speak no more until the first 
surge of grief had passed away. It was a mighty emotion 



404 



REV. STLVAKUS COBB^ D.D. 



that stirred his soul ; and I thought as I saw the strongman 
weep in humble resignation, how grand it is to mourn in a 
faith that takes sure hold upon the paternal love of God. 

In the month of July, 1847, Mr. Cobb purchased the 
subscription list of the " Gospel Foiintain^^' a Universalist 
paper, printed at Lowell, and published in " Lowell, Mass., 
and Nashua, N. H." Br. William Bell had been publishing 
the paper, but he found it rather more of a load than he 
could carry, and knowing that Mr. Cobb's shoulders were 
broad, he turned the burden over to him. And so the 
Christian Fkeeman came to embrace New Hampshire 
within its purchased territory. Its list was swelled, and it 
gained addition to its limits of circulation ; but in a pecuni- 
ary point of view, Mr. Cobb gained nothing. Still he ful- 
filled his contract, and the " Fountain'* subscribers had the 
privilege of reading now and then an article on the Reforma- 
tory side of Christianity, a privilege which some of them, 
if I remember rightly, took with many wry faces, as sick 
children take medicine. 

I had intended to devote this chapter to a consideration 
of Mr. Cobb's influence towards bringing the Universalist 
denomination to its present high and noble stand upon the 
great reform movements of the age. In the introductory 
chapter I claimed that the crowning work of Mr. Cobb's 
life was the part he bore in the identification of the denom- 
ination of Christians to which he belonged with the spirit 
of the Temperance and Anti-Slavery Eeforms ; and so I 
hold it to have been. It is not saying too much to say that 
Sylvanus Cobb did more to this end than any other man. 
We have seen what was the spirit of the pulpit and of the 
press when he issued the prospectus for his paper, and we 
know what it is to-day. Even at the breaking out of the 
late war a Universalist minister who should have refused to 



THE MEMOIR. 405 

vote for the strongest kind of an Anti-Slavery resolution, 
couched in proper language, and dictated by the Christian 
spirit, would have been looked upon as a man who had got 
most sadly misplaced. And who has done all this ? There 
must have been some strong power at work ; and there 
must have been some strong men wielding that power. 
And more still, — those men must have been at work within 
the body of the denomination; for, as I have already had 
occasion to show, those men who " come out" from a body 
have no longer power within it ; so that those ultra reform- 
ers, who cast off the social bonds and kick themselves clear 
of really good institutions which they fancy do not move 
fast enough, seldom accomplish anything beyond the gain- 
ing of now and then a proselyte. The very nature of the 
position they occupy precludes the possibility of their mould- 
ing the opinions of society, or of purifying institutions 
which they spurn and denounce. They make a noise and 
bhister in the world, as do the lightning-bolts that flash and 
stream and burst in the sky ; but the electricity that works 
for man's use, surely and safely, is gathered in well-ordered 
batteries, subject to rational control, and goes forth upon 
its mission of usefulness, confined to the highways and by- 
ways which sense and judgment have established for its 
transit. 

As I write these pages it seems hard for me to realize 
that a new generation has come upon the stage since Mr. 
Cobb established the Christian Freeman. It is easy for 
me to trace the growth of the spirit of Reform in the de- 
nomination ; but when I come to reflect that there are men 
and women engaged in the active business of life to-day 
who had not yet been born in that day, I am led to believe 
that they may not fully understand to whom they are in- 
debted for the blessings they find prepared for them as they 



406 



HEV. STLVANUS COBB, B.B, 



step forth upon the stage of active being. And that such 
may know who has been earnestly and patiently laboring 
during all these years of gradual change, let us look at the 
record. 

In the first place, it is a simple fact of history that the 
Christian Freeman was established on purpose to supply 
a desideratum, — to furnish to the Universalist denomina- 
tion a paper which should discuss the subjects of Temper- 
ance and Anti-Slavery, — and that it was for some years 
the only Universalist paper which even admitted such dis- 
cussion to its columns. In the second place, we all know 
that a paper must depend for its general tone and character 
upon its editor ; and I might quote many articles, from 
the pens of our first men, to show how Mr. Cobb was held 
by the discriminating portion of the public as an editor ; 
but I have not the space. Sufl3ce it for me to say that the 
fathers of our denomination recognized in him a proper 
type of the true Christian editor, and so expressed them- 
selves over their own signatures. 

I have been tempted to reproduce here several extracts 
to show the spirit in which Mr. Cobb conducted his paper ; 
but as my space is limited, and as the articles to which my 
attention has been particularly directed are somewhat 
lengthy, I will only say, that no man ever occupied the 
chair editorial who more deeply realized the sacredness of 
" Editorial Besponsihility " than did he ; and while he stood 
up boldly and manfully for the " Freedom of the Press" he 
never lost sight of those proper bounds beyond which the 
true moral teacher should not allow his passions or his pre- 
judices to betra}^ him. He maintained that it was his duty, 
as a Christian Editor, to speak out against all wrong ; and 
while, as an independent man, he should exercise his own 
judgment touching the extent and character of his opposi- 



I 



THE MEMOIR. 



407 



tion, he would not forget that there were bounds of propri- 
ety within the limits of which he should circumscribe him- 
self. Did a man send to him to have his paper stopped on 
account of its Anti-Slavery articles, he granted the request ; 
but he did not lessen his opposition to the giant evil. He 
could not look upon chattel slavery, in any light whatever, 
without being struck with horror, and, firmly believing that 
Christianity was utterly opposed to it, in every way and 
shape, he spared no pains towards bringing the spirit and 
power of the denomination of Universalists to bear against 
it. And here let me say to the younger portion of my 
readers that this was before the time of our glorious Re- 
form Festivals. The Universalists, as a denomination, had 
never, in that day, made any public demonstration signify- 
ing that they had any attachment to the Reform Spirit of 
the age. 

The first meeting of " The Universalist General Reform 
Association^'' was held during the month of May, 1847, and 
the concluding ceremony was a BreaJcfast^ partaken of at 
Washingtonian Hall, in Bromfield Street, at eight o'clock 
on the morning of the 28th. About two hundred were pres- 
ent, and Father Ballon made the opening prayer. The day 
was pleasant, and the occasion was a joyous one. Man}'- of 
the brethren had come up to this first meeting of the Asso- 
ciation with fears that it might be a failure. Some had 
prophesied that such a demonstration of Reformatory ten- 
dencies, and the recognition of such elements as proper 
constituents of the denominational body, would be danger- 
ous in the extreme. Our good Br. Adams, then of Mai- 
den, in his speech at the breakfast-table alluded to these 
prophesies of failure, but it did not look like a failure to 
him. It looked like the beginning of good things — a be- 
ginning with good hearts and strong souls — a beginning 



408 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D, 



based on God's truths, and with the strongest desire that 
God's truth should prevail. Filled with the spirit of the 
occasion, and with a countenance made resplendent by the 
emotions within, he electrified the audience as he repeated 
the lines, — 

" On ! Let all the powers within you 
For the Truth's sake go abroad ! 
Strike ! Let every nerve and sinew 
Tell on ages ! — tell for God ! " 

And that Breakfast, in Washingtonian Hall, twenty 
j^ears ago, was the new-born child that has since grown 
into our glorious Reform Festivals. And here, Dear 
Reader, let us indulge for one moment in sober thought. 
To whom are we indebted, as a denomination, for these 
grand social gatherings with their spirit and power of 
moral and spiritual good? You can see that the whole 
thing is the offspring of Reform. As we gather about 
that festive board now, after the lapse of two-score years, 
and feel what a glorious heritage of faith is ours — a faith 
that takes within its broad grasp every son and daughter 
of Adam — a faith that takes to itself as its own legit- 
imate forces all that can tend to elevate man and bless 
him — a faith that holds the segis of Human Liberty as the 
rightful inheritance of every man to shield him from 
oppression and wrong — a faith which makes better and 
happier all who possess it, — as we feel all this, do we ask 
ourselves, whence came the heritage ? Who labored long 
and earnestly? — who toiled without ceasing? — who per- 
severed and worked on, opposed b}^ friends who feared dis- 
sension in our ranks, and b}^ enemies whose craft was in 
danger? — who did all this that the Universalist denomina- 
tion might be imbued with the spirit of Reform, and identify 
itself with the great principles of True Life and Human 
Liberty ? 



THE MEMOIR. 



409 



Now in Ms quiet office, by the midnight lamp, writing 
his editorials for Temperance and Freedom ; anon in the 
country, lifting up his voice in behalf of the down trodden 
and the oppressed ; then warm in battle with the opposers 
of Progress and Reform ; hard at work always, and with 
the one great end in view ; trusting, hoping, praying, and 
striving for the blessings we now enjoy. Surely the editor 
of the Christian Freeman did something towards gaining 
for us the glorious heritage. And when you next sit at the 
festive board of the Universalist Reform Association, will 
you not turn one grateful thought to the memory of him 
who now rests from his labors, and who was at least one 
of the founders of the institution you so highly prize ? 

No man was ever able to make Mr. Cobb understand why 
he should hold his politics separate from his religion. He 
believed that if there was any one place more than another 
where was needed the renovating and life-giving power of 
Christianity, it was at the ballot-box. First to his God — 
then to his Country. And how could he do his duty to his 
country without the governing spirit of his religion. At 
one of the Festivals of the Reform Association he made a 
speech, an extract of which will come in here very perti- 
nently. The subject under discussion was Slavery ; but 
not introduced by him. Other brethren had eloquently 
described the sinful character of Slavery, and pictured in 
startling colors the alarming encroachments of the slave 
power, when Mr. Cobb arose. The following is the t5on- 
cluding part of his speech as given by the Reporter : — 

** I would have all Christians act upon the moral principles of 
Christianity in all their relations, — certainly in political rela- 
tions, which are among the most important. There can never 
be a reform of the evils and abuses complained of, which if un- 
checked will soon destroy our country, until the old political 
35 



410 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



parties are broken up, or abandoned, and the people act as a 
great Christian and American people, on Christian and Amer- 
ican principles. As matters are now conducted, we might as 
well let the little knots of ti'ading politicians in their respective 
districts appoint all the officers, and the people stay at home and 
take the consequences. In every section there are knots of 
trading politicians, or political gamesters, who make of this 
game their living. They care no more for the question of right, 
or for the moral and social interest of the people, than the tech- 
nical gambler. They arrange among themselves as to the dis- 
tribution of the offices; and when the caucus is assembled, 
though a few of the honest people may be there, these game- 
sters are expert in the tactics of their profession, they are 
instant to get up the organization from among themselves, 
including the nominating committee to serve their purpose. 
Their nomination being made, the people have nothing to do but 
to walk straight up to the ballot-box, and vote the nomination. 
It is the law of the parties that every member shall vote the 
regular nomination, or suffer capital punishment. It would be 
just as well, and would be a great saving of time and expense, 
for each member of the party to have a man of straw prepared 
as his representative, and placed outside of his front door elec- 
tion-day morning, labelled Whig or Democrat, and let the 
political leaders gather up these straw men, each according to 
the label, and cart them to the polls, and shake out into the 
ballot-box the vote that shall be placed in their fingers. 

"This voting the regular nomination is all well enough, when 
all is right at head-quarters. But the people must see to it that 
their own sentiments are represented, and their moral principles 
are not outraged. They must teach the party leaders that unless 
they put in nomination good and true men, known to be trust- 
worthy for their integrity to just and upright principles and 
measures, they shall find themselves alone, despised and re- 
jected. In this way only can the lamented evils which prey 
upon us be removed, and greater evils be prevented. 

" To illustrate the manner of political management, and en- 
slavement to party, I will, said Mr. Cobb, if my friends will ex- 
cuse the seeming egotism, relate an item in my own experience. 
I was once and again, for some reason or other, constituted a 
member of the Legislature of Maine. When I had occupied a 



THE MEMOIR. 



411 



seat in that body a short time, a certain question was acted upon, 
and I voted as I pleased. A day or two after I received a note 
from an honorable Senator, an old Universalist friend, requesting 
a call upon him in a given lobby at a given hour. I promptly 
complied. * It is reported,' said my friend, ' that you voted so 
and so on such a question. I have taken the liberty to contra- 
dict the report, but I thought I would have the contradiction 
from your own mouth.' * Then,' said I, ' you owe it to truth and 
to me to correct, forthwith, your misrepresentation of me.' 
* But I thought,' he said with great earnestness, ' that you were 
of our party ' 'Of whose party ? ' I inquired. * I thought you 
were a Democrat.'' 'And I am a Democrat,' I said with empha- 
sis; 'a Democrat upon principle; and hence the vote I have 
cast.' And I proceeded to show him that mine was the true 
Democratic principle in the case. * Yes, yes,' said he, ' I see it. 
But then we must go for our party. ^ * Indeed,' I replied with in- 
* dignation, ' if -you suppose I have come here to be tied as a bob- 
tail to the kite of a party, so that when my constituents ask me 
why I acted thus and so, I can give no other reason than that 
my party did so ! — you mistake your man.' And he troubled 
me no more. 

" But when a man is thus arraigned, who is looking for poht- 
ical preferment, and feels dependent on the power of his party, 
what is he to do ? Aye, what is he to do ? Let the people tell 
him what to do. Let their conduct assure him that if he will 
stand up as a man, and maintain the right, they will take care 
of his preferment ; and that otherwise, they will shake him off 
as a viper from their hands. 

" I tell you, my friends, we must cast the party divinities to 
the moles and the bats, and be a Christian people in our political 
relations and actions. Then shall our country be saved, and 
posterity rise up and call us blessed." 

That was Mr. Cobb's position as a politician. Upon all 
questions involving the moral duty of the country, or of 
the individuals composing the government thereof, he knew 
no politics but Christianity ; and on all questions of purely 
a political nature, having to do with measures for promot- 
ing the thrift and success of the people, and developing 



412 



EEV, STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the material wealth of the country, he knew no politics but 
Right. That was his ground, and he never swerved from 
it. He never took advantage of the ministerial garb be- 
neath which to conceal his party preferences. He regarded 
man's political duty as one of the highest and most sacred, 
and he would perform it openly and boldl}^, and speak out 
thereupon when he deemed that occasion required. 



TRE MEMOIR. 



413 



CHAPTER XI. 

Qualifications for a Leader, — Articles of Condemna- 
tion AND Justification, — The Compromise of 1850, — 
"Assaults upon the Clergy," — His true Conserva- 
tism, — The Fugitive Slave Law, — A Demise down 
South, — Builders upon Foundation, — Result of 
the Record. 

Any man, possessing a fair degree of intellect, and moved 
by zeal and earnestness, with the accompaniments of will 
and perseverance, may succeed in raising a sect, or party, 
to follow him into even the most wild and whimsical paths. 
No soi-disant reformer was ever yet so extravagant and 
rabid that he could not find proselytes. But the man who 
would help lead a numerous body of staid, respectable, and 
intellectual Christians up to a new and higher stand-point 
of moral and social truth must needs be the possessor of 
stern and sterling qualities of head and heart. He must 
not only himself be thoroughly imbued with the spirit of 
his mission, but he must be a careful and candid student 
of human nature ; a cool, comprehensive reasoner ; and he 
must be willing to accept society as he finds it, and make 
the best use of such instrumentalities as come to his hand. 

Now we claim that Mr. Cobb possessed all these quali- 
ties in a high degree. He was never inclined to fly off on a 
tangent ; but there was enough of conservatism in his na- 
ture to give proper centripetal force to his reformatory 
35* 



414 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D, 



movements. The chief centre of his aim was the good of 
man, and he allowed no wild longing after impossible things 
to break the attraction that held him within the circle of 
judgment and common sense. As I have before remarked, 
had his mind in youth taken a turn to the study of Law 
instead of Divinity, he would have made a most able and 
reliable judge. All his tendeucies of thought and action 
eminently fitted him for such a position. But he found his 
true place outside the legal bar. His it was to be a leader 
in the Universalist denomination ; and he was a safe one. 
None who knew him feared to trust him. When the giants 
of the Orthodox school of theology led their hosts against 
the citadel of Universalism, all were willing that Sylvanus 
Cobb should take the field against them. Let Orthodoxy 
send forth its strongest man, and when it was known that 
Mr. Cobb had gone out to meet him, all fears for the result 
were banished. 

And as it was in the field of theology so it was in the 
field of Reform ; only in the latter case he had more to con- 
tend against ; for not only were the open enemies of Liberty 
and Equality arrayed against him, but of his own denomi- 
national household there were many who would hold him 
back, and who did really " give aid and comfort to the 
enemy." 

In this chapter it is my purpose to pursue the theme in- 
troduced into the one preceding — showing how Mr. Cobb, 
by his steady, untiring, and persistent course, tempered 
with moderation and kindness, did his part towards bring- 
ing the Universalist denomination to the high and noble 
stand it now occupies in the world of moral and social Re- 
form. 

In the Spring of 1846 the " Star in the West;' a Univer- 



THE MEMOIR. 



415 



salist paper published by Mr. Gurley, put forth the follow- 
ing complimentary notice : — 

CHEISTIAK FREEMAN. 

** This paper is published in Boston, is a trifle larger than the 
'Star,^ well printed, and sells at $2 per year. Br. S. Cobb is 
editor; and he is assisted by the able pen of Br. H. Bacon, who 
is editor of the * Ladies'' Repository.'' It is devoted to the cause 
of Universalism, and contains the passing news of the day, and 
good miscellaneous articles for family reading. We regard Br. 
Cobb as an able man ; a critical, although (like many of us) not 
a very polished writer. He publishes and preaches very sound 
doctrine — and we look upon him as very Orthodox in theology. 
We are compelled, however, to dissent from his policy on the 
subject of slavery — fully believing that his keeping in his paper 
the abolition question prominent, can do no good but must result 
in harm. And his late advice to our preachers to either preach 
what we should call modern abolitionism at the South, or stay* 
away from it, we consider perfectly suicidal, and not at all in 
correspondence with his general good sense, or the teachings 
and example of Christ and his Apostles. He thinks differently 
of course ; and everybody knows that he has just as good a right 
to his opinion as I have to mine. We wish him, and all our edi- 
tors, great success in infusing into the lump of humanitj'' the 
leaven of the gospel, which shall finally leaven the whole lump, 
and purge out whatever is impure and unholy." 

To this Mr. Cobb replied in his usual straightforward, 
brotherly manner. First, he gracefully acknowledges the 
complimentary portion, and then proceeds to explain to his 
Brother Gurley the true bearing of the " Christian Princi- 
ple" and to examine into the proper methods of promulgat- 
ing those principles, even among slaveholders. He does 
not believe that this Christian Principle can be carried to 
the hearts of men with any degree of saving or redeeming 
power by allowing it to close its discriminating vision to 
any great sin. Once admit that a certain thing is abso- 



416 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



lately wrong, and we can gain nothing for our religion by 
attempting to wink that wrong out of sight. But the Ed- 
itor of the Freeman finds ready at hand a crushing rejoin- 
der to his timid brother's fears of harm from the keeping of 
the abolition question prominent in his columns. He copies 
from C. M. Clay's paper, published in Lexington, Kentucky, 
an article in which is considered the subject of the passage 
of an Anti-Slavery protest and resolutions by the Univer- 
salist Convention, wherein and whereby he is enabled to 
directly show to Br. Gurley that Mr. Clay, in a Slave State, 
where no Universalist clergyman is laboring, bestows a 
generous praise upon the Universalist denomination be- 
cause of this outspoken spirit of hostility to slavery ; and 
Mr. Cobb is furthermore enabled to show that all noble 
minds must give their respect to that body of Christians 
who square their speech and actions by the true spirit of 
the religion they profess. 

Mr. Cobb's most violent opposer never thought of calling 
in question his love of Universalism. No man could know 
him intimately without discovering that Universalism was 
the one power of earth that he worshipped ; and he wor- 
shipped it because he believed its spirit was of God. And 
then, in these years of his stalwart manhood he had a most 
undoubted right to claim and exercise a little authority in 
the Universalist ranks. He had been not only one among 
the first of its preachers, but he had been one of the faith- 
ful husbandmen who had sowed the seed in new places. In 
these years of which I write there were all over New Eng- 
land flourishing societies that had grown up from the seed 
which he had placed in the soil, and there were talented 
and hard-working brethren of the faith who had gained 
from him the light that guided their religious steps. So he 
had a right to love the household of the faith ; he had a 



THE MEMOIR. 



417 



right to assume one of the humble places of leadership : 
and thus loving, and thus leading, who shall say that he 
had not the right to labor for what he honestly believed to 
be the legitimate aim of the blessed gospel ? But there is no 
need at this day that we should defend his course. Thank 
God ! events have proved that he was right ; and under the 
light we now enjoy there lives not a man worthy the name 
of Christian who would wish to deny it. 

At this point I have been hesitating. I have at hand a 
long denunciatory article from the " Liberator" severely 
berating Mr. Cobb for his " conservatism," with the reply 
thereto ; but I will not give it place here. Suffice it for 
me to say that the editor of the Freeman met with even 
more abuse from the " extremists" or " come-outers" than 
he did from the pro-slavery party. They saw that he was 
wielding much influence, and that the result of his labors, 
if persevered in, must be to bring the church up to the true 
Eeformatory stand-point. Now these hot-headed men had 
made it an article in their creed that the church and the 
clergy, together with the institutions they upheld, were 
really stumbling-blocks in the way of Reform, and they 
liked not that one wearing the priestly garb, and belonging 
to the household of the New England clergy, should gain 
power in a sphere which they would arrogate to themselves. 
They had conceived a dislike of the church and of the 
clergy, and in continuation of the warfare they came to 
dislike and denounce about all the institutions cast in the 
New England religious mould. The institution of the Sab- 
bath, especially, came in for a weighty share of their in- 
vective ; and one of their soi-disant engines of Reform was 
an " Anti-Sabbath Convention." Against the influence of 
these men Mr. Cobb labored zealously, for he loved those 
institutions with his whole heart, and he clung to them as 



418 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



arks of safety for the people ; and in performing this labor 
he brought upon himself the denunciations of the whole 
Anti-Church and Anti-Sabbath force. Mr. Cobb admitted 
the errors of the church, and of the clergy, and he sought 
their reform. . 

Little cause had any man for accusing Mr. Cobb of 
backwardness in advocating all proper and needed reforms ; 
and so far as his " Conservatism " went, read the following 
from his pen, and judge. Read it, and see how truly he 
spoke. Read it, and see how, at this day, nearly every 
true heart in the land will beat responsive to its senti- 
ments. This is not a single article, slipped from his pen 
in a moment of spasmodic feeling, but it is one of many of 
the same kind. In fact, his columns, from week to week, 
bore to his readers just such stern rebukes of wrong, and 
earnest appeals for right. This is from an issue of the 
Freeman of March, 1850, at a time when the compromise 
measures of Mr. Clay upon the admission of California 
were under consideration, and when Mr. Webster had made 
that remarkable speech which so astonished his friends : — 

"POLITICAL CROAKING. THE COMPROMISE. 

"We do protest against the present style of croaking, by the 
political press of the J^orth, in relation to the dissolution of the 
Union. Almost the entire political press indulges in a tone of 
alarm in respect to the safety of the Union, and with Northern 
members of Congress, suffers itself to be diverted to the discus- 
sion of ways and means for averting such a catastrophe. This 
is just the slavish business to which our Southern masters wished 
to put us. 

" It is mortifying in the extreme to see our Representatives in 
Congress condescending to go into a discussion of compromises 
and surmises for saving the Union, and our political journals ap- 
plauding their wisdom and patriotism in making '■'discretion 
their better valor.'''' What are they sent to the Capital to do ? It 



THE MEMOIR. 



419 



is to deliberate and legislate for the right and the good, for the 
present and permanent interest of the country. If they have a 
measure which is wrong and mischievous, or which infringes 
upon the constitutional rights of sister States, let there be no 
compromise, but an utter abandonment of their project. But if 
they have a measure to urge Avhich is constitutional and right, 
and which is demanded by the law of republican liberty and 
happiness, let them not consent to compromise it away, but 
firmly, calmly, seasonably, justly, labor for its consummation. 

" But what if secession is threatened by a sister State as the 
price of such a measure? What? Pass it as the idle winds, 
which you respect not, — and keep about your business. If we 
cannot have our holiest sentiments represented in our national 
legislature, and we may not perform our highest duties there as 
branches of the Federal Republic, for fear of the bowie knife, 
the pistol, or the secession of States, then the sooner the great 
bubble bursts, the better. We would not consent to occupy so 
degraded a position, as to sit in Congress as mere dotards, to do 
as any spoiled child may bid us do, under the threat of dashing 
out its own brains if we refuse. Depend upon it, every in- 
dulgence which Southern members extort by their threats, 
endangers the Union ; for it fosters in them the spirit of t}Tanny, 
encourages further encroachments, and settles a precedent on 
which they will argue a prescriptive claim for such indulgence. 
In this way the Union will soon be made too shameful a thing 
to bear its own weight. It will decompose by its own putres- 
cence. 

"What is the question now? It has been pleaded by the 
apologists for slavery as it is, that they, and even Southerners, 
generally, are as much opposed to slavery in the abstract as we 
are. The introduction of slavery, they say, was a wicked trans- 
action, and if it were not in our country, they would by no 
means have it entered. But as it is in the Southern States, and 
tlie present generation had no agency in introducing it, they are 
not to be blamed for its existence. 

" Well, what is the question now? It is, whether we as a re- 
public, we of the Free States even, will blast and curse the now 
free territories of our domain with the terrible sin and evil of 
slavery : Or, which is the same, whether we will open the doors 
of those territories to the influx of this evil. Every principle of 



420 



EEV. SYLVANVS COBB^ D.D. 



religion and morality, of reason and nature, of republicanism 
and common sense, of social and political economy, forbids it. 
How many thousands in the slave-blighted States of America 
have cursed the memory of King George, for his agency in the 
introduction of slaves into our country. Shall we, under the 
light and the profession of those doctrines of human rights which 
King George had never studied, give the same occasion for pos- 
terity in those new and fertile countries to curse our memory ? 
No hot-spur gasconade can render it justifiable in us. 

"Suppose you are in a productive business co-partnership. 
A member of the firm comes to you with the project of an ex- 
tensive murder and robbery for the increase of capital. You 
refuse to participate in the scheme, or to be accessory to it. He 
then attempts to procure your concurrence, by the threat that 
otherwise he will withdraw from the partnership ! Would this 
threat constitute a justification of your confederacy in the 
robbery ? 

"No, let not our Representatives in Congress, nor our political 
journals, set up their praises of a compromise of principle. Be 
deliberate, calm, firm, persevering in the right. And if any 
turn their gasconade into an overt act of insurrection, let the 
Executive take care of them. 

"We speak not as a political partisan; nor do we speak 
ought that bears against any one political party. We speak as 
a man, an American citizen, a Christian, a father, whose pos- 
terity are to enjoy or sufler, according to the preparations we 
provide. And we speak unto wise men, for none but wise men 
would be patrons of the Christian Freeman. Judge ye what we 
say." 

Let it be borne in mind by you who are just entering 
upon the stage of active and independent manhood, that 
this was some seventeen years ago, when the cry went np 
loud and bitter against political preaching^'' and when not 
another paper in the denomination would have dared to 
admit such a thing to its columns. In fact, I think I may 
safely say that the cry against carrying politics into the 
pulpit " was at its height during the excitement consequent 



THE MEMOIR. 



421 



upon those compromises which threw the broad domain 
acquired from Mexico open to Slavery. It happened 
unfortunately for Massachusetts that her darling son and 
political idol, Daniel Webster, had committed himself to 
the interests of the Slave Power, and when the people 
came to be assured that the telegraph had not lied, those 
w^ho felt party ties to be stronger than the dictates of 
Right and Justice, at once set themselves about devising 
ways and means to conceal theu' own chagrin, and to keep 
from the masses a full knowledge of the calamity that had 
befallen the genius of Liberty in New England. Of course 
one of the things necessary to be done to this end was to 
close the lips of the clergy ; and to accomplish this they 
resorted to all means that lay within their power. With 
some they succeeded ; but not with all. Especially among 
the Liberal Christians there had come up a power that was 
not to be crushed so easily ; and they found many minis- 
ters who were bold and fearless in speaking the truth as 
they understood it ; and among this number was Mr. Cobb. 
Not only for himself did he cry out against the mon&trous 
wrong ; but he strove to speak for the denomination. By 
every means within his reach did he seek to educate his 
people up to the standard of direct and open opposition to 
the Slave Power ; and when the politicians flung their slurs 
and accusations against him he was ready with his auswer. 

During the year 1846 Rev. L. S. Everett had editorial 
charge of a Universalist paper published in Buflfalo, N. Y., 
entitled the " Western Evangelist and in his issue of July 
11th he took occasion to come down with great severity 
upon Mr. Cobb. He commenced his article by alluding to 
the "fearful spread of Infidelity" brought about by the 
seductive teachiugs of Theodore Parker ; and then he goes 
on to claim that things have come out "just as" he ex- 



422 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



pected." He had "warned Br. Cobb" of the result j^ears 
before. If Br. Cobb had turned his attention to preaching 
a "Risen Saviour" instead of preaching "Abolitionism," 
all this might not have occurred. He did not expect that 
his advice would be heeded ; but, for all that, he would 
once more advise Br. Cobb to let those " exciting topics " 
alone for the future. 

In the same number of the Christian Freeman which 
contains the editor's notice of this article (the issue of 
July 31,) appears a commendatory epistle from Dr. Allen, 
of Deckertown, N. J., from which I mak,e the following 
extract. The letter commences by speaking of the Pres- 
bj^terian character of the neighborhood in which the writer 
resides, and of the refreshing influence of the Freeman's 
religious articles, not only upon himself, but also upon 
many of his friends ; and thus he concludes : — 

'* But in reference to that other mighty reform — the aboHtion 
of Slavery — the Christian Freeman is doing a noble work, hoth 
for the honor of Universalism and the cause of Philanthropy. 
And here I would ask, if we do not, in virtue of our professions, 
owe it to the Avorld to take high ground here ? By what other 
people can the great doctrine of human brotherhood be pro- 
claimed if not by us ? Can we excuse ourselves at this day of 
light, for confining our labors wholly to the controverted points 
of sectarian theology, without following them out to their legit- 
imate bearings on the great reforms of the age, and enforcing 
their practical application there ? To declare the equality of 
man in the sight of God, the universal paternity of the Father, 
the common brotherhood and common destiny of the race, these 
are the grand leading-points of our religion, and can these doc- 
trines be held by those who will not ' protest ' against human 
slavery ? The very idea involves a solecism that shocks the 
sense. And yet I grieve to acknowledge that our friends of 
New York have never dropt a word in the Union, by which we 
could learn that over three hundred of our clergymen had pub- 
lished a solemn protest aganist this mammoth sin. Yet so it is. 



THE MEMOIR. 



423 



JiTo allusion whatever to the ch'ciimstance has, to my knowl- 
edge, ever yet appeared in its columns. I know not their mo- 
tives. But the fact alone, I need not say, detracts largely, in 
my estimation, from the value of their otherwise acceptable and 
very useful labors. Brethren of New York! your course is 
noticed. Is Universalism too good to be put in practice, or too 
evil? Can man hold his brother in chains, and Universalism 
look on and smile ? The world beholds the incongruity of this. 
And let me say, the world is rising up in judgment against all 
who are guilty of it. 

" Br. Cobb, go on ! The prayers of the good are with you. 
A glorious triumph awaits us. 

" Yours very truly, 

"C. Allen, M.D." 

If Mr. Cobb's lucubrations had been refreshing to the 
doctor, he might have rested under the assurance that his 
friendly epistle was eqnall}' refreshing to the toil-worn and 
harassed editor. 

The man who would be a safe leader in any enterprise 
must be one who is willing to give a projected movement 
fan- examination in all its bearings ; and he who would be 
a successful leader in Eeform must have enough of con- 
servatism in his composition to admit of a just and dis- 
criminating consideration of those points which im^olve 
human expediency ; because even in pursuing the path of 
absolute right a proper degree of caution is never out of 
place. The true surgeon will be very careful about per- 
forming a capital operation upon his patient which his 
judgment tells him may prove fatal. In certain diseases 
verj^ powerful medicines are needed ; but your honest and 
trustworthy physician will, in regulating the times and the 
quantities of the doses thereof, be governed as much, and 
perhaps more, by a consideration of the possible dangers 
to the general sj^stem of the medicine, than by a simple 
consideration of the curative effect desired. And so in the 



424 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



polity of Eeform, the true and trustworthy leader will 
never forget the great body of the country, and the dan- 
gers to which its system is liable ; and in the administering 
of his medicine he will look to it that he does not give 
doses which will create greater evils than those he seeks to 
eradicate. 

Mr. Cobb had, in our humble estimation, just enough of 
this spirit of conservatism to qualify him in an eminent 
degree for the position he occupied — a Pioneer of Reform 
in the Universalist Denomination. Upon the occasion of 
the " John Brown Tragedy " he improved the opportunity 
to read to the country a valuable lecture upon the subject 
of the Nation's Duties and Eesponsibilities. He did not 
propose to make a saint of John Brown ; but he showed 
how, by a regular process of ratiocination, that man had 
come to regard the course he pursued as a sacred duty, due 
alike to his God and to his fellow-men. And in closing a 
lengthy article Mr. Cobb tells to the country just what 
they must expect if this abomination of Slavery is further 
upheld and fostered ; and in finishing his prophetic picture 
he quotes from the 28th chapter of Isaiah verses 14-19. 
He reads in this John Brown Tragedy the signs of coming 
destruction. Either Slavery must be destroyed, or our 
Nation must follow other nations that have persisted in up- 
holding wrongs that were alike opposed to the laws of God 
and to the best interests of man. 

The words of men, spoken with seeming inspiration, when 
the heart was warm for humanity, and the vision of reason 
had grasped, as if by sight, the consequences of persistence 
in great wrongs, have been handed down as prophecies ; 
and why may we not say that Mr. Cobb spoke with pro- 
phetic power and vision when he pictured the evils that 
were to come upon our country from the nurture and spread 



THE MEMOIR. 



425 



of Slavery ? I have, at this writing, a large number of ex- 
tracts from his written articles and speeches, all foretelling 
what would surely come to pass of calamity and destruc- 
tion to the country if the giant wrong of Slavery were not 
put back, and its insolent demands spurned by an enlight- 
ened people ; but I need not give them place here. I have 
enough of extractive matter without them ; but I may be 
allowed to say that the destruction of Jerusalem, in the 
event of a continuance of the abominations of the Jewish 
people, was not more vigorously and startlingly portrayed 
than was that calamity which has already befallen this 
country propheticall}^ portrayed by Mr. Cobb ! 

There is something instructive, and at the same time 
amusingly significant, in the course pursued by some of 
our ministering brethren when they found that the abomi- 
nation of Slavery was really and truly swallowing up the 
very liberties of the American people. In other times they 
had been fearful of the result of admitting discussion upon 
the subject into the denomination ; but when there came an 
act which stirred their souls so deeply that they could bear 
it no longer, then they felt that their duties as ministers of 
the Gospel required them to speak out. One noble-hearted 
father in the denomination, whose caution had led him to 
be wary of meddling with " vexing questions," when the 
Fugitive Slave Law was passed, concluded he had borne 
enough ; and straightway he wrote a letter to the editor of 
the Christian Freeman thanking him for his course in rela- 
tion to that abominable enactment ; and then he goes on 
to sa}^, — 

"I have always been conservative and moderate on all agita- 
tions concerning slavery. I am so now. But, the law in ques- 
tion, is so manifestly unconstitutional 2ind anti-Christian, that lean 
obey it only, in suffering its unjust fines and penalties. Others 
36* 



426 



MEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



may do as they think right. For one, I have examined the whole 
subject, and am prepared to defend the ground I take. If I can- 
not do it, I will, for the first time, acknowledge myself .beaten. 
Still, I cling to the Union of States, so long as they are States ; 
whilst I deny the unauthorized usurpation of Congress, as ex- 
hibited in the Fugitive Slave Law. This is not a party question ; 
if it were, I would not, in my ministerial capacity, meddle with 
it. It is a question of civil rights, of morals, of religion, in which 
every citizen has an interest, and a right to speak freely." 

Among the extracts at my elbow I find one clipped from 
the editorial page of the Freeman, headed — "going — 
GOING — GONE ! " and it gives an account of the decease of 
a so-called Universalist paper, ycleped "T7ie Gospel Mes- 
senger,'' published in the State of Alabama. I also find 
numerous articles of discussion between the editors of the 
Freeman and of the Southern paper upon the subject of 
Slavery ; but we may sum up the whole thing in a very 
few words. The Southern editor had claimed that the 
Universalists, as a denomination, should let the subject of 
Slavery alone, so that the doctrine might be promulgated in 
the Southern States, to which, in considering the event of 
the demise of the Alabama paper, Mr. Cobb replies : — 

"Brethren, — You are laboring to^uphold and justify Slavery, 
that you may be permitted to labor for the upbuilding of Univer- 
salism in the South. But do you not see that the very institution 
which you are laboring to sustain, is itself destroying Univer- 
salism as fast as you can build it ? Father Winchester labored 
to promulgate our religion in the South as early as Murray com- 
menced his labors in the.!N"orth. Efforts of this sort have been 
continued, as far as opportunities offered, ever since. And how 
does the matter stand ? Why, in the Free States there are about 
twenty Universalist publications, weekly and monthly, in suc- 
cessful operation, and most of them are well sustained. In the 
South, one paper alone cannot find support! And our cause in its 
other aspects, except in a few places near the border of freedom, 
will well nigh compare with the case of the paper." 



THE MEMOIR. 



427 



One of the grandest efforts of Mr. Cobb at speech-making 
was his response to a sentiment given on the occasion of 
the Universalist Reform Festival in 1855. The sentiment 
was, "Our Denomination — Builders upon Foundation'^ 
The speech was literally a summing up of the results of his 
labors and observations during his long term of service as 
a worker in the field of Reform ; and certainly no laborer 
of them all was better qualified to speak upon that subject 
with understanding than was he. He not only comprehend- 
ed the glorious beauties of our denominational fabric, with 
its characteristics and adornments of all the graces and vir- 
tues and beatitudes of Chiistianity, but he fully understood 
what was necessary to support the superstructure. Wisdom 
might contrive, and Beauty might adorn, until a fabric had 
been reared that should command the admiration of the 
world, but what could it avail if there were not Strength to 
support. If the Foundation were faulty we could have lit- 
tle reason to congratulate ourselves upon the architectural 
glories of the superstructure. And then he went on to ex- 
amine the various methods of those who have come forward 
with plans for the remodelling of our great social, moral, 
and religious fabric ; and in the end he showed that only 
the true Christian, building upon the Foundation of the 
Gospel in its purity, could hope to be a successful work- 
man. It was a noble effort, and those who heard it will 
never forget its power and pathos. He spoke as one having 
authority, by reason of long and faithful service ; and he 
spoke to the point and to the purpose. 

The lips that uttered these words are now hushed in the 
sleep of death, and the pen that wrote so much for human- 
it}^ has dropped from the fingers that may no more wield it. 
But for the man there can be no such thing as dying. He 
has performed his labors in this lower world ; he has ex- 
pended the talents which were placed in his keeping ; and 



428 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the Master has called him home. In spirit he is with us 
now ; and for ages 3'et to come, when the brethren of the 
household of our glorious faith meet in social council, there 
shall be with them an operative influence of good, coming 
down through the lapse of time, from the lips and the pen 
of him who "tried to be a faithful servant of the 
Lord." 

So far as the distinctive doctrines of Universalism are 
concerned Mr. Cobb may claim no higher place than a faith- 
ful " Member of the Old Guard ; " but when we judge of 
Universalism as one of the great social and moral powers 
of Progress and Reform — when we come to view it as a 
Palladium of Human Liberty set up in the midst of the 
people — then I claim for Sylvanus Cobb that he was a 
Leader of even the "Old Guard" itself. Does not the 
record bear me out? Where were the rank and file of the 
" Old Guard " of the denomination when he threw his ban- 
ner of Reform to the breeze ? — and where are thej^ to-day ? 
What, in that early daj^, was the spirit of the Universalist 
press and pulpit touching those vital questions of a Nation's 
weal, to the solution of which he gave the best energies of 
his life ? — and what was that spirit when his life-labor was 
accomplished ? I claim not that he did it all. — God for- 
bid ! But I claim that he did much — that he did enough 
to place his name high upon the roll of honor and of fame. 
Most assuredly did he accomplish the possibility of life 
enjoined by the sweet Bard of Erin : — 

"Who, that surveys this span of earth we press. 
This speck of life in time's great wilderness, 
This narrow isthmus 'twixt two boundless seas, 
The past, the future, two eternities! — 
Would sully the bright spot, or leave it bare, 
When he might build him a proud Temple there, — 
A Name — that long shall hallow all its space, 
And be each purer soul's high resting-place! " 



THE MEMOIR, 



429 



CHAPTER XII. 

The East Boston Home, — Enlargement op his Paper, 
— Value of Old Bills, — The Time for a Silver 
Wedding, — Looking back from the end of his First 
Half Century, — Ideas of Capital Punishment, — 

JOURNETINGS AND JOTTINGS, An AnECDOTAL ScRAP. 

We now come back to something like order in dates, and 
proceed with the more prominent and interesting events in 
the life of Mr. Cobb. In the first place let it be understood 
that he had found an abiding-place upon the headland of 
Noddle's Island that suited him. The " Castle of Peace" 
was to him a pleasant home, and while he lived he saw not 
another spot for which he would exchange the site upon 
which his mansion stood. He thus speaks after having 
resided there nearly five years : — 

" The weather has been excessively hot in this region for the 
past week. In the heart of the city it has been impossible to 
' keep cool.' Not only has the sun scorched by day, but the peo- 
ple complain that they have not been able to get refreshing sleep 
by night, by reason of the heated state of the sluggish air. 

"But we suffer none of this debilitating night heat in our 
domicil at East Boston. Situated on the summit of Belmont, in 
the first section, back of the site of old Fort Strong, we have the 
pure breezes from the Harbor, freighted with the perfume of the 
white clover of the Commons, and of the surrounding gardens. 
We sit by our window and snuff pleasure and health, and sleep 
with open windows, in an influx of air as pure as the breath of 
Aurora. Awaking from sleep in such an atmosphere and a peace- 



430 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.D. 



ful conscience, with renewed yigor we greet the rosy morning, 
and enter upon the duties and enjoyments of the day. 

"I^ow there is room for a few more families in this immediate 
neighborhood. There are a few beautiful houses in the market, 
and unoccupied lots for sale ; and there are families living at a 
poor dying rate, in crowded and stifled parts of the city, who are 
able to provide a residence in this spot of spots. Don't tell us of 
your Melroses and your Somervilles. They are very pleasant, but 
mere moon-shine compared with the vicinity of Belmont Square. 
And then you have here the combined advantages of city and 
countiy in full. Why, what if the cars start while you are speak- 
ing the concluding word of kindness to your friend, or rounding 
off the last end of your bargain ? Five minutes' walk will carry 
you from the Post Office to the Ferr}^ ; five minutes more, through 
the refreshing breezes of the Harbor, will land you on the East 
Boston shore, and four or five minutes more will welcome you 
at your door on Belmont Square. Come and see." 

There may be some "beautiful houses in the market" 
still; but as for those "unoccupied lots," they have all 
been taken up, for the health-loving people who had the 
means were not long in making the discovery that the vicin- 
ity of Belmont Square was the place for a comfortable 
home. 

At the commencement of the Tenth volume of the Free- 
man, in May, 1848, Mr. Cobb enlarged his paper far beyond 
the size and capacity of an}^ other Universalist weekly ; and 
he also procured new type, and a new clress throughout. 
The outlay of money thus called for was large, but the pub- 
lisher was determined that his patrons should have as good 
a paper from his office for their money as could have been 
procured elsewhere ; and if he could, by any means within 
his power, present them with a better, he meant to do it. 
He had come now to know what was required to make a 
first-class, readable paper ; and as he had taken the lead in 
other matters having to do with the inner life of the denom- 



THE MEMOIR. 



431 



ination, SO now he took the lead in those matters which 
appealed to the taste for the beautiful and entertaining in 
outward things. 

It was somewhere about this time that Mr. Cobb's un- 
derstanding was first fairly opened to a just appreciation 
of the value of the claims which had been for nine j^ears 
accumulating against delinquent subscribers. There were 
bills to the amount of thousands of dollars due him, but 
they were most of them against people whom he could not 
conveniently reach. Away up in the north-east corner of 
Maine there might have been forty or fifty subscribers, 
scattered over an area of a thousand square miles, owing 
him, upon an average, four dollars each — some perhaps 
owed two, while others may have owed from ten to fifteen 
dollars. In the Western part of the State there might have 
been two or three hundred of these delinquents, scattered 
over a territory three or four times as large as the former. 
In New Hampshire and Vermont it was the same ; and so 
thi'bughout New England and New York. Small sums in 
a town, all the way from Quoddy Head to Lake Erie. To 
send a collector over this territory was impossible, for Mr. 
Cobb had not the money with which to pay the expenses of 
such an agent ; and yet there were the bills upon his books, 
continually staring him in the face, and he sorely needed 
the money. 

At length a gentleman, by the name of Pease, from Hal- 
lowell, I think, made his appearance in the Feeeman office, 
and ofi'ered to purchase these bills. He had made that his 
business, and had already purchased the outstanding bills 
of a gi'eat many New England papers, and intended to 
purchase all that he could. He could not have afibrded to 
go down into Penobscot County with only the Christian 
Freeman bills to collect ; but when he came to have in his 



432 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



possession the bills of a hundred other papers, the case was 
different. Having the whole business in his own hands he 
could afford to hire agents, and set them at the work. He 
did no collecting on commission. He bought the bills out- 
right — good, bad, and indifferent. If he bought the ac- 
count of one subscriber residing in Nopaton, he wanted the 
outstanding bills of all the others residing there. Mr. Cobb 
examined Mr. Pease's credentials, and having received a 
solemn guarantee that no honorable subscriber whose pov- 
erty prevented his paying should be hard pressed, he con- 
sented to sell. But, mercy ! When he came to see the 
figures of the return he was to receive for his bills, how his 
ardor was dampened ! At first he could not consent to it, 
and he took a night to sleep upon it. For some of those 
accounts he was to receive thirty-three cents upon a dollar, 

— for some twenty cents, — for some even less than that ; 
while for those which might be deemed current bills — bills 
against men whose record showed that they were good pay- 
ing subscribers — he got a fair price — a price but little 
less than would be left after deducting a fair percentage for 
collecting. By and by Mr. Cobb asks himself, — "What 
are these bills worth to me ? " and the answer comes back, 

— " Some of them — many of them — are worth nothing ! " 
And he decided to sell. It was a great sacrifice when con- 
sidered in the light of what he ought to have received from 
those subscribers ; but when he reflected upon what the 
bills were worth to a man who had got to assume the re- 
sponsibility of collecting them, he felt quite satisfied ; and, 
on the whole, the transaction was a favorable one for him. 
It not only gave him a little ready money with which to 
wipe off obligations that were outstanding against him ; 
but it squared his books, and banished from his sight a 



THE MEMOIR. 



433 



thousand-and-one old accounts that had long been like so 
many eye-sores to him. 

Thus, in a measure, relieved for a time from the harassing 
care of running out every week to collect money for cur- 
rent expenses, Mr. Cobb devoted more of his time to the 
care of the editorial department of the paper which he 
had enlarged and beautified. In his address to his pat- 
rons on the occasion he says, — 

"The general character of the Freeman will be the same 
which has gained it so extensive approbation. It will be deci- 
sive without dogmatism, — grave without austerity, — cheerful 
without levity, — philanthropic without pusilanimity, — and 
faithful without unkindness. While it discards Beelzebub, it 
will worship Jehovah. While it renounces superstition, it will 
reverence religion. While it respects man's judgment of truth, 
it will thank God for his revelation of it. While it shouts for 
libert3% it will plead for order. While it labors manfully and 
perseveringly to correct abuses and exterminate oppression and 
wrong, it will work assiduously to build and prosper those civil, 
moral, and religious institutions, which shall establish and per- 
petuate the right." 

There was one event which I neglected to introduce in 
its proper place in order of time, but it will answer just as 
well to bring it in here. I allude to the celebration of the 
twenty-fifth anniversary of Mr. Cobb's marriage, which 
took place on the evening of September 10th, 1847. There 
was no " Silver Wedding" on the occasion, as that sort of 
thing had not then been generallj^ introduced ; but there 
was a happy gathering, and a joyous celebration ; and the 
bride and groom were as gay and jubilant, and as full of 
hope and promise, as they had been just a quarter of a cen- 
tury before, when they first joined hands for the life that 
was to produce so much of the healthful influence through 
which society is purified and adorned. 
37 



434 



HEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



The following extracts from a letter written by the happy 
bride to her parents will give the reader some idea of the 
occasion : — 

" My dear Parents, — I know you have thought of us more 
than once to-day, and more than once have we thought and 
spo^ven of you, and our dear former home. Many years have 
elapsed since we left the paternal roof, but we shall never forget 
the place, and our enjoyments there. You know, dear mother, 
our sentiment on the subject of progression, and so we are con- 
tented with the past, and willing to go on for the future. 

"We have this evening enjoyed a haj^py family meeting 
indeed. With nine children, all Avell and happy, and all re- 
maining under the same roof, we met to celebrate the twenty- 
fifth anniversary of our marriage. And if ever hearts went up 
in unison to the throne of grace, hearts overflowing with grati- 
tude to the Supreme Governor of the universe, for his countless 
mercies, I believe it was at this time. And when we heard the 
words uttered — ' We thank thee, O Lord, that through a long 
series of years, sickness hath seldom entered our dwelling, and 
death never,'' our every soul seemed to unite in the same silent 
response of gratitude and love. And so it is. For twenty-five 
years scarcely a cloud has come over us ; none but what we 
have seen cleared away to leave a brighter sky. We can say 
with the royal poet, ' The Lord is great, and greatly to be 
praised.' 

" We enriched our meeting l^y singing Hymn ol7th, Streeter's 
Collection, in the tune of ' Peterboro' ' ; — 

" * On thee, each, morning, my God, 
My waking thoughts attend, 
In whom are founded all my hopes, 

In whom my wishes end.' 
****** 
"And also the 520th Hymn, same Collection, in old 'He- 
bron': — 

" ' Father of men, thy care we bless, 
Which crowns our families with peace; 
From thee they sprung, and by thy hand 
Their root and branches are sustained.' 



THE MEMOIR. 



435 



*' Both tliese tunes are favorites of our dear parents, and glad 
should we have been to have enjoyed your musical talents with 
us. After uniting in fervent prayer to God, we partook of some 
of the bounties of his munificent providence, and retired, each 
with the desire of the others' futm-e prosperity and happiness. . 
"Affectionately, your daughter, 

"E. H. Cobb." 

I may say in this place thlit as the years sped on, 
and the married life of the happy pair stretched towards 
half a century, the remaining children promised themselves 
much pleasure and satisfaction in celebrating the " Golden 
Wedding " with ceremonies and material accompaniments 
suited to the occasion ; but the pleasure may not be ours. 
The next meeting of that family circle, when heart shall 
beat Avith heart in responsive sentiments of love and joy, 
must be in the home where the griefs of separation are 
known no more forever ! 

On the 19th day of July, 1848, Mr. Cobb was fifty years 
of age, and on that occasion he jotted down the following 
thoughts and reminiscences which the reader will find of 
more than passing interest : — 

*' This day, July 17th, completes a half century of my life. It 
is my 50th birthday* How wonderful is human life. I used to 
look up to men fifty years of age as old men. Yet I cannot 
think that I am old. I do not feel old, tho' I have labored hard. 
Time indeed flies swiftly ; yet I cannot say so emphatically as 
some say, of the portion of my life that is passed, that it seems 
short, or like a dream. In looking back through the vista of 
years, I see a somewhat long avenue, and many prominent 
objects by the way. My reminiscences of the past are numerous, 
and interesting. It is a little more than twenty-eight years since 
I commenced the work of the public ministry. Of this time one 

* Of course he means the 50th anniversary of his birthday; because, counting 
the day of birth the Jirst birthday, then the years of life are marked by the anni- 
versaries thereof. — Memoirist. 



436 



BEV. SYLVAN US COBB, D.D. 



year was spent in further preparatory studies, and itinerating ; 
seven years in Waterville, Me., one Iialf the time preaching in 
that place, and the other half over a large portion of the State ; 
ten years in Maiden ; three years in Waltham ; and seven years 
I have resided in East Boston. I have preached 3805 sermons, 
of which I have memoranda. Three years I was lecturing 
Agent of the Middlesex County Temperance Society, lecturing 
on an average three times a week, making 468 lectures, averag- 
ing more than an hour each in length. Before and since that 
agency I have been in the habit of lecturing often on moral sub- 
jects, performing a large amount of labor of which I have not 
a complete record. It would, hoAvever, be within bounds, for 
Anti-Slavery, Temperance and Scientific lectures, to add another 
468, making in all, sermons and lectures, 4741. Besides all this, 
I have, for the last nine years and three months, edited the 
Christian Freeman, and also performed a large portion of the 
out-door agency connected with it. The necessity of this has 
resulted from the fact, that other denominational papers were in 
the field before mine, and I could not ask my ministering breth- 
ren to give this their special attention, as it would seem to be 
asking them to show partiality between brethren towards M'hom 
they would preserve equal relations of friendship. Furthermore, 
there are so many hundreds of papers urged on the people, that 
one can hardly make it profitable to go out on hire as a travelling 
agent for a denominational paper. Indeed there are but few 
persons who are fit for travelling agents in such case, of the 
class who could at any rate be induced to engage in so unpleas- 
ant, uncertain, and laborious business. These circumstances 
have imposed it upon me, as a necessity, to do a great jDortion 
of the out-door labor thus far, of getting up and carrying forward 
this paper establishment in the community. 

"Besides the above named labors, I attended quite extensively 
to gardening during my seven years in Waterville and three 
years in Waltham, and to farming on the Parsonage the ten years 
in Maiden ; and served two terms in the Legislature of Maine, 
and two in that of Massachusetts. 

" But amidst all my labors and responsibilities, God has pre- 
served unto me almost unvarying health, cheerfulness, and hap- 
piness. He has blessed me in my family, and in many thou- 
sands of worthy friends in the world. May the future portion 



THE MEMOIR. 



437 



of my life be devoted more faitlifallj^ and successfully to his ser- 
vice." 

Thus far I believe no allusion has been made to Mr. 
Cobb's ideas and position upon the subject of Capital Pun- 
ishment. As I have once had occasion to remark, he al- 
lowed no attachment to any single idea to lead him into 
forgetfulness of the weal of society at large. Could he 
have been brought to understand that the good and safety 
of society required the judicial taking of human life, he 
would have allowed no mere sentiment of horror at the 
thought of hanging to lead him away from what his judg- 
ment told him was the path of duty. But he did not be- 
lieve that the gallows w^as a healthy institution. He be- 
lieved that the real good of a people could not require the 
execution of a deed so fraught with inhumanity and horror. 

Mr. Cobb wrote much, and spoke much in public, upon 
this subject ; and his chief aim was to show that society 
would be the gainer by making the punishment for crime 
sure to follow the commission thereof, and also in showing 
to the murderously inclined that the law of a Christian peo- 
ple held human life as something too sacred to be taken in 
cold blood. 

As the reader is very well aware, Mr. Cobb was, during 
Ms life-time, engaged in many important and labored dis- 
cussions with various champions of the Limitarian faith, 
and most of these will be found noticed in order according 
to the respective dates of their occurrence ; but there is one 
which I wish to notice more for the purpose of giving some- 
thing like a bit of anecdotal entertainment than for any- 
thing else ; and I will bring it in now while I think of it. 
I allude to the passage-at-arms between himself and Rev. 
A. W. M'Clure. While Mr. Cobb resided in Maiden Mr. 
M'Clure was called to the pastorship of the Orthodox 
37* 



438 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



Society in that town. It will be remembered that this Or- 
thodox Society was the body which had been " left out in 
the cold" by the gaining of the " First Parish" property to 
the Universalists ; and as the members of that body had 
never forgiven those who overcame them in that old con- 
test, it was quite natural that their minister, when they 
came to settle one, should imbibe much of their prejudicial 
feelings. Mr. M'Clure was a warm-hearted, impulsive 
man, fluent and passionate, and very apt to allow his feel- 
ings to run away with his tongue, e\^en in the pulpit. 
Some warm revival operations were going on in that region, 
which Mr. M'C. was doing much to aid, and Mr. Cobb 
delivered and published two sermons on the subject there- 
of, entitled " Christian "Warnings," upon which Mr. M'Clure 
came out with a series of " Lectures on ultra Universalism" 
which were published in book-form. 

I was but a mere child then — not more than ten years 
of age — but I remember those lectures very well, and I 
remember how different people were variously affected. 
Some were delighted ; — those were a few of the vindictive 
ones who had suffered themselves to believe that the Uni- 
versalists had robbed them of theu' property. Others were 
surprised, — others were astonished, — while many were 
chagrined and mortified. I remember how, when the book 
came out, I used to open to certain passages wherein per- 
sonal attacks were made upon my father, and wonder at the 
genius of the man who could prostitute the pulpit to such 
invective. In fact, I read those passages as I read the say- 
ings of the renowned Blunderbore in the then, to me, verita- 
ble history of " Jack the Giant-Killer." There was one 
passage in which the Reverend lecturer divided the Chris- 
tian world into two vast fields, — or, one field di^dded into 
two parts, — and on one side he gathered all the patri- 



THE MEMOIR. 



439 



archs, and prophets^ and apostles, and priests, and teachers 
of Christendom, from the earliest days down to the present ; 
and on the other side, coming forth to vanquish and to con- 
quer all, he pictured "the great and mighty Sylvanus 
Cobb ! " I remember I thought how grand it was, and I 
wondered if he really meant to ascribe such mighty powers 
to my respected progenitor. I was too young and unso- 
phisticated then to see and comprehend the amazing wit 
and sarcasm of the figure. And I remember also how freely 
he recommended to Universalists the use of "ropes," " hal- 
ters," " garters," " pistols," " butcher-knives," " fire," and 
the like, as instrumentalities by which they might in the 
twinkling of an eye throw off this tenement of clay, and 
leap at once into everlasting glory ! 

But that passage in his lectures which I particularly re- 
member, not only on account of the oddity of the charge it 
prefers, but also on account of its truthfulness, is that in 
which he illustrates the insincerity of Universalists" 
Here is one of his points : — 

*' A second circumstance which discredits Universalist sincer- 
ity, is, that they commonly swear Orthodox oaths. Of this fact 
everybody is aware. Let them get angry, and you hear nothing 
but hell, the devil, and damnation." 

I cannot imagine what the man was thinking of. He did 
not claim that Universalism led to profanity ; but directly 
the opposite. If Universalists wished to be profane they 
were forced to flee to their Orthodox friends to borrow their 
oaths. And then, as though entu^ely forgetting where he 
was, and in what garb he stood, he gave his hearers an ex- 
ample of " Universalist swearing." Here it is, as it came 
from his lips, and as it was published in the first edition of 



440 



HEV. SYLVANVS COBB, D.D. 



bis book, — though I believe that in subsequent editions 
this, with some other passages, has been stricken out : — 

' ' To set this subject clearly before you, suppose you should 
hear a married couple of that persuasion engage in high debate, 
and attempting to scold in consistency with their doctrine. 

*' Husband. My dear, I wish the angel Gabriel had you. 

" Wife. My love, I wish you was in glory, with all my heart ; 
you are not fit to live anywhere else ! 

" Husband. O, you torment ! I swear I wish you was blessed : 
God save your -cursed soul to heaven ! " 

Mr. Cobb, in paying his compliments to the book, thus 
speaks of this passage : — 

*' See, kind reader, what a masterly painting the Reverend 
lecturer has drawn of the moral force of Universalism. Here is 
a husband, angered in a guardless moment, — and he opens his 
mouth to curse his wife. The curse is half way down his tongue, 
when he happens to think of Universalism, and out comes a 
blessing. The wife, too, in a momentary pet, undertakes to 
curse her husband, and with the curse nearly spoken, she thinks 
of Universalism, and the word becomes a blessing. How sub- 
lime is the moral power of that religion, the very thought of 
which, even in the moment of turmoil and passion, will change a 
curse to a blessing, and sweeten wrath to love and peace. And 
such is the moral power which this Goliah of Orthodoxy is con- 
strained by his own moral instincts to ascribe to Universalism. 

'* In behalf of the Universalist denomination, we tender thanks 
to Mr. M'Clure for his just rebuke of those nominal members of 
our order who meanly steal from Orthodoxy the very constitu- 
ent elements of then' most shameful practices." 

And in closing this chapter allow me to say, what may 
have been said in substance already, and what I may allude 
to again, that no man had a better right to speak freely 
against profanity than had Mr. Cobb, for I believe that 
during the whole of his life there was never heard from his 



THE MEMOJE. 



441 



lips a low, passionate expletive of anj^ description. No 
such phrases as " My gracious ! " "My conscience !" nor 
anything that could take the place thereof in spirit and in- 
tent, were in his vocabulary. There was something really 
peculiar in his utter freedom from everything of t\].e kind. 
Sui'ely 

There's nothing ill can dwell in such a Temple." 



442 



HEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

Signs of Wear, — The Christmas Tree, — The last 
"New Year" to the Unbroken Band, — James Ar- 
thur, — His Sickness and Death, — Sarah Wait, — 
Her Departure. 

A MAN of iron, with nerves of steel, — a man conscious 
of his entire immunity from the pains and penalties of over- 
work and extreme mental and physical taxation, — a man 
set above the narrow limits of human possibilities, — 
seemed almost to be the Editor of the Christian Freeman. 
And yet that man was made like other men, — with a body 
subject to physical laws, and with nerves that could not be 
estopped from bearing along their magnetic highways the 
messages of sense and pain. Even now, as he entered upon 
the second half-century of his life, there were signs and 
tokens of wear upon his stalwart frame. There were pains 
in his back, near the scapular regions of the right side ; and 
there were times when much speaking gave him trouble. 
But he thought of " rheumatism," and of " slight colds," 
and paid no heed. Early and late he was at his work, 
deeming that he was never stronger — never better. When 
his voice once utterly failed him in the desk, and the writer 
of these memoirs was called to read the remainder of his 
sermon for him, he fancied that a simple application of 
some healing remedj^, and a few hours of rest, would dissi- 
pate all the trouble and remove the cause. He never knew 
how, even then, the finger of disease had placed its weaken- 



TKE MEMOIIt. 



443 



ing touch upon the machinery that had borne so much ; but 
in years then to come the son who read his sermon for him 
on that occasion was to behold that blighting finger-touch, 
and was to see whence arose the trouble which he, bold, 
fearless man, held so lightly ! 

As I write these lines I have at my elbow, clipped from 
the columns of his paper, numerous articles highly com- 
mendatory of his course as an editor, and of the general 
tone and character of his publication. Among them I find 
a communication from a poor widow who must stop her 
paper because she can no longer afibrd to take it. Her 
husband is gone, and she must, in justice to her children, 
curtail her expenses, even to the sacrifice of the weekly 
visits of the Friend she had learned to love so well. And 
does Mr. Cobb draw his pen across that woman's name on 
the page of his mail-book? No, no. It was not his 
nature. Thus his pen moves : — "If that bereaved family 
will accept the Fkeeman another year, it is theirs in wel- 
come." 

A small thing, — a simple stroke of the pen ; — but it 
was the impulse of the heart of a man who would have 
bestowed thousands had they been his to give. 

I love to look over those documents. The}^ are treas- 
ures to me, bearing a gem in every line, — indices along 
his pathway of earth, pointing out the thickly crowding 
events of his useful life as Ihey transpired ; — precious to 
his loved ones ; but they might fail to interest the general 
reader, and I pass them by. 

On Christmas evening, 1850, was introduced into the 
"Castle" a custom, or ceremonj^, which was followed up 
while there were members enough of the family within call 
to malie it interesting. The following account, taken from 
the Freeman, will give an idea of the joyous occasion ; for 



444 



REV. SYLVAXUS _COBB, D.D. 



I remember verj^ well that it was both jo^'ous and jubilant ; 
and the j^oimgest child of them all, clapping its tiny hands 
in delight over the glittering bestowment of Santa Claus, 
was not more pleased and gratified, and moved to blissful 
realization, than was the stout patriarch from whose loins 
that family had sprung : — 

"OUR CHRISTMAS TREE. 

" On the evening of the 25th we introduced into our domicile 
the ceremony of the CHRISTMAS TREE. The Tree was a 
native Pine of Maiden, a present from our friend, George Sar- 
gent. This was erected in the Parlor; and suspended on its 
branches, and orderly arranged upon the pedestal, were Boxes, 
Books, Gloves, Furs, Fans, Jewelry, Dresses, Kerchiefs, Pen- 
knives, Brushes, Combs, Baskets, Pens, Stationery, recently 
published Games for the amusement and instruction of the 
young, Toys of various kinds, Confectionery, &c., &c., each 
article being labelled with the name of the subject of the gift. 
Among the generous contributors to tliis richly laden Tree, were 
our friends, B. B. Mussey, Esq., Phillips & Sampson, Abel 
Tompkins, Esq., Ticknor, Reed & Co., James French, TVm. B.- 
Little, Crosby and Nichols, Anson Peck, and Heyer & Co. A 
spread table in a corner of the room was loaded with varieties 
of rich and delicately manufactured cake, all a contribution 
from Charles Copeland, and nuts and fruits, from Gilson & 
Henry. 

"At half past 7 o'clock, when the Queen of the Castle, with 
a little of our assistance, had got all these matters arranged in 
secret, a message was sent to the waiting family in the chamber, 
which, with children and grand-cliildren, made a company of 
fifteen, besides three or four visiting friends, and they marched 
in procession into the illuminated parlors. As they entered, filed, 
and formed in front of the generous Christmas Tree, their sweetly 
varying voices, from the manhood of twenty-eight to the child- 
hood of three 3'ears, chimed in loud and repeated huzzas. They 
surrounded the Tree, progressively spied out their respective 
labels upon the gifts of Kriss Kringie, an exercise which occu- 
pied some thirty minutes. Then refreshments were served, — 



/ 



TRE MEMOIR. 



445 



after whicli the Tree was harvested, each gathering his or her 
own, — and this was an agreeable labor. 

*' The harvest being finished, all becoming possessed of their 
portions respectively of the products of the Tree, the residue of 
the evening was spent in music, conversation, and experiment- 
ing on the new Games, till 10 o'clock, when, as an exercise 
than which none was more interesting, we sung two Christmas 
hymns from the Family Singing Book, to the tunes of Sherburn 
and Westbrook, in which all but the little grand-children were 
able to join. Then followed prayer and thanksgiving. And 
should not a family offer prayer and praise upon the altar of 
glowing hearts, who live in the blessed light of Christ, whose 
birth we celebrated ^ 

" Such is a brief history of the CHRISTMAS TREE, in the 
house of Sylvanus, Dec. 25, 1850." 

At the opening of the year 1851, Mr. Cobb wished his 
kind Friends and Patrons A HAPPY NEW YEAR 
through the columns of his paper, and thereupon took 
occasion to indulge in a little retrospection of the past, 
and healthy resolve for the future. He asks : — 

"And what are we to accomplish? What shall the now cur- 
rent half of the nineteenth century bring to pass in our countiy 
and world ? The past half has accomplished much. When we 
take a retrospect of the last fifty years, and see what progress 
has been made in the sciences, the arts, and in religious knowl- 
edge, we inquire with solicitous interest, can the future fifty 
accomplish so much? If it does, where shall we be, or where 
will our children be, in the year 1900 ? We cannot attempt to 
measure the height and distance of the world's progress. 

"There is no one branch of human improvement which equals 
that in the mode and expedition of conveyance. Soon alter we 
moved to Massachusetts, twenty-three years ago, we had occa- 
sion to ride through Brighton, and seeing a nicely graded road 
in progress, we were informed, upon our inquiry, that it was to 
be a railroad from Boston to Worcester. We believe the 
Lowell railroad was then nearly finished. When the cost was 
estimated, it was generally apprehended that the speculation 
38 



446 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



would render bankrupt the proprietors. But now, so soon, New 
England, especially Massachusetts, is literally checkered with 
railroads, offering their facilities to almost every neighborhood ; 
they stretch, also, from the Kennebec to the Mississippi, and will 
soon extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific, through the broad- 
est part of the North American continent." 

His prognostics for the future, and his earnest prayers 
for the increasing good of God's children everywhere, are 
such as might be expected from his pen. And I believe 
that on such occasions he nerved himself anew for the 
labors he had planned to perform towards making the 
world better and happier. 

On Thanksgiving day of 1851 Mr. Cobb's family were 
all assembled beneath the old roof-tree of the " Castle," 
for another of those festive occasions which were always 
sure to yield much of pure and unadulterated good. The 
following is the father's record : — 

" We had beautiful weather for thanksgiving last week. It is 
a pleasant occasion — this annual Thanksgiving-day by executive 
appointQient. It makes the interest of it general. Many scat- 
tered families were gathered together last Thursday week, and 
mingled souls, and renewed old affections, and increased domes- 
tic happiness. 

"To us it was a glorious day. We made a group of seven- 
teen, with our children and grandchildren ; and aU were pleased 
and thankful. 

"In the evening we dedicated to Him whose they are, two 
grandchildren, daughter and son of Samuel Tucker Cobb, the 
Printer of the Freeman. By the names, Lucy Holmes, and Sam- 
uel Tucker, they were, in the interesting service framed by 
father Murray, filially confided, for time and eternity, to the God 
and Father of all, whose nature is love, and whose grace never 
failetli. 

"Many more such anniversaries may we enjoy." 

But that was the last Thanksgiving Day of Gubernatorial 



THE MEMGIB. 



447 



appointment which the family were to enjoy with a band 
unbroken. The time was approaching when one of their 
number was to be taken from them — 

" * * * * Their svreetest, fairest one, 
In that it Tvas their youngest." 

James Arthur, who was nine years of age on the 2 2d of 
December of that year, had been failing in health for some 
time. In his earlier childhood, before the hand of disease 
had been laid upon him, he was like other children who try 
to be good and true. He had all the lores, the instincts, 
and the passions of his age, and the same things pleased 
him and fretted him that pleased and fretted others. He 
was, from his iufanc}* to his eighth year, seemingly robust 
and strong, and there appeared no reason why he might not 
grow up to stalwart manhood. During these years he was 
the light and joy of the household ; and I cannot forget how 
man}' a hearty laugh his jocund spirit and precociousness 
of witticism gave us at the festive board. But as he ap- 
proached the age of eight years a change came over him. 
Without any cause which the parents could understand his 
health began to fail, and his buoyancy of spirit began to 
give place to the thoughts and reflections of maturer years. 
Some time before this he had received a severe kick from a 
horse, the blow taking effect just below the breast on the 
left side, and there was some apprehension that this might 
have been a remote cause of the difficulty ; but medical men 
decided otherwise. Those whose judgment was based upon 
long experience decided that the trouble was an organic dis- 
ease of the heart. This the parents did not wish to believe ; 
and, wishing so strongly, they sought all possible reasons 
for not believing. 

As is often the case with children, and with older people 



448 



REV, SYLVANUS COBB^ B.D. 



as well, when James Arthur's body began to fail, his mind 
commenced to strengthen ; and as the earthly nature became 
cramped by disease, the spiritual nature developed itself in 
a remarkable degree ; and towards the close of his life there 
was something perfectly heavenly in his thoughts and con- 
versation. Had he remained strong and robust, and able to 
engage in the rough, erratic sports of boyhood, this might 
not have been ; and, on the other hand, had not his nature 
thus led the instincts of his soul, and had not his early 
education been of the proper kind, no amount of physical 
weakness could have called forth the heavenly spirit ; for 
that cannot be developed which has no existence in the 
soul. 

I know the reader will pardon me for what I write in this 
connection ; for I do it in the firm conviction that it will be 
of interest. Remember, I do not claim that " Jimmy " was 
one whit better than are thousands of boys scattered all 
over this land where Christian mothers have their homes ; 
nor was he more to be loved than is your sweet boy, my 
dear sister. But, like yowv own bud of blessed promise, he 
was a good boy ; he had ever been a most loving and duti- 
ful child ; and the home which we loved had been made 
brighter and better because he had lived in it. I would 
speak particularly of a few things connected with this trans- 
ition stage of his life, because they are most truly interest- 
ing. I have never known a case where the spirit of a 
dweller upon earth came so near to the heavenly gate as did 
his. There doubtless have been many such cases ; but none 
of them have come to my ken. You who trample upon the 
Bible as a book not to be credited I do not ask to read 
what I shall write ; for to you there may be no significance 
in a heavenly vision ; but you who honor that Sacred Vol- 



THE MEMOIR. 



449 



ume can perhaps give respectful consideration to the inci- 
dent I am about to relate. 

For some time the boy had been confined mostly to the 
house, and a greater part of the time, to his chamber. He 
had come to converse upon spiritual things as subjects in 
which he felt a deep and abiding interest ; and many visit- 
ers grown to adult age gained lessons of wisdom from his 
lips. His Bible was his constant companion, and when he 
was not able to read himself, he got others to read its 
inspired pages for him. And to prayer he gave much 
attention, often requesting his parents to join with him in 
that devotional exercise. This could not have been the 
result of any influence exerted upon him at that time by 
others ; for it was the aim of his parents, and of his 
brothers and sisters, to turn his mind to thoughts of 
worldl}' joys in the time to come, when he should get well 
and strong again. Of course they did not seek to divert 
his mind from these devotional and spiritual reflections. 
Far from it. They loved to dwell upon the holy inspira- 
tion that seemed to move his utterance. But they did not 
invite such conversation. Feeling that the bent of the 
mind, or will, had much to do with recovery from the 
thraldom of disease, they sought to make him think of 
getting well, and of joining once more in the sports of 
other da^^s. But all to no avail. At times, as though to 
please the anxious ones who stood around him, he would 
speak of getting well, and of growing up to be a "great 
man ; " but such was not the instinctive turn of his medi- 
tations. 

On Saturda}^, December 6th, Jimmy had seemed to be 
more sick than usual. Towards evening, while sitting in 
his great easy chair, and while liis eldest sister was by his 
side, he said to her, in a calm, rational tone, as though he 
38* 



450 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.B. 



had been some time considering the matter, — "Haley, I 
think this is the last night I shall spend with you." And 
then he began to talk of angels, remarking that when he 
was an angel his sufferings would be at an end. At this 
juncture his sister, who feared that he might be passing 
away, called to her mother, who immediately after entered 
the room ; and when she heard the words that were falling 
from her darling's lips she was moved to take a pencil and 
paper, and write them down. While he was speaking, his 
sister stood over him and pressed her palm upon his brow, 
and directly he reached up his hand as though in trouble, 
saying to her, — "Don't put j^our hand there, Haley. I 
don't see out of my ej^es as 3'ou do. You've got your hand 
^where my sight comes in." 

The sister removed her hand, and presently afterwards 
the boy beheld an angel host gathering about him. He 
was not asleep, nor was he in any such state of trance as 
the so-called " spmtual media " talk about ; but he was 
entirely awake, in possession of his full waking senses, and 
what there might have been of abnormal state was super- 
added to the normal. His eyes were closed of his own 
volition, because the moment the hand was placed upon 
his brow he opened them, and asked that the obstruction 
might be removed. "Oh! What a beautiful sight!" he 
cried. And then, in answer to questions from his mother 
and sister, he described what he saw. He beheld a circle 
of little angels, gathering about him, with wreaths of 
flowers upon their heads, and holding each other by the 
hand ; and they smiled upon him, and whispered one to 
another, and pronounced his name. By and by older 
angels came, and he recognized his Uncle Eben, who had 
passed away from earth some six months previously. And 
here I will make an extract from the account which his 



THE MEMOIR. 



451 



mother wrote at the time. He had been asked if he could 
tell what the angels said to him : — 

*' * Yes, but I can't tell you as they tell me, for they sing it 
beautifully. We can't sing so.' 

** He was then asked to tell what they said. 
• Keep still,' said he ; ' don't talk, and I will listen and tell 
you.' 

*' 'They say, "Come, little Jimmy, and be happy with us."' 
Grandma is speaking now. She says, "You are a good 
little boy, Jimmy, and if you come now, I will take care of 
you." ' 

"' Uncle Eben is speaking now,' said he. 'He says Eunice 
and Hitty have been here to-day (these were his two daughters 
who had spent the night with us) ; write and tell them that I am 
happy, and if you do not get better, you shall come and be with 
me in this world of love and joy." ' • 

" Again he spoke, ' Oh, this is Sally.'' (My feelings here were 
indescribable ; for this was a dear sister of mine, who died 
before I was married, and whom he knew nothing about.) He 
was asked what slie said to him. ' She says, " You have a good 
mother, Jimmy, and if you do not stay with her, you will come 
here and be happy, and I will be like a sister to you." ' 

" After resting a few moments, apparently in deep thought, 
he turned to me and calmly said, * Mother, I have one word 
more to say, and that is, if I should fall asleep, never more to 
awake, I want you all to live, a happy family, in peace, and 
often think of your dear little boy Jimmy.' 

"He then looked around the room, and inquired how many 
were present. On being told, he sweetly said, ' There is one 
wanting, my dear father.'' He was told that he should be imme- 
diately sent for, though we were fearful he might not arrive to 
see him, as he had been obliged to leave the city for a few hours. 
After this he seemed more quiet, and asked, ' if we should know 
when he was dead ? ' He felt that he was * falling asleep.' On 
being assured that we should know, lie remained, as if going to 
sleep, for some moments, and then brightening up, he said with 
a stronger voice, — * I guess I shall live longer ; I don't think I 
shall die now; and the angels said, " if I did not get better, I 
should come and be with them," and the angels are leaving me.' 



452 



MEV. STLVANUS COBB, B.D. 



In a few moments he said, ' They are going,' and again, * They 
are all gone.' He seemed to see many who were waiting for 
him, and all appeared happy. 

" Shortly after this, he turned to speak to his little niece, who 
stood beside him, when he said, * O no, there is one angel flying 
around in the air, with a wreath on its little finger. TJiis is my 
guardian angel.' " 

After this he sank into a quiet slumber, and for a time 
he seemed to revive. On the following day he conversed 
jo}' fully about his vision, every particular of which was as 
vividly imprinted in his memory as could have been the 
particulars of any other actual occurrence ; and during the 
conversation his mother asked him how he knew that the 
.angel he had recognized as such was her sister Sally. "Be- 
cause," he answered, " she told me so. The first thing she 
said to me was, that she was my mother's sister." 

And from that hour the boy had no fears of death. In 
fact, he looked forward with anticipations of joy to the time 
when he should join that angelic band. And the influence 
upon the mind of his father was of the most peaceful and 
happifying kind, though he was by no means reconciled to 
the thought of giving up his darling. The following letter, 
written some weeks later, gives a true index of that father's 
feelings. No one can read it without experiencing a pro- 
found reverence for the spirit which dictated it, and a sym- 
pathy with the throbbings of his great heart : — 

** Sandwich, Sunday Noon, Jan. 25, 1852. 

"My dear Wipe: 

*' I parted with you yesterday with new and pleasing hopes, 
which greatly lighten and cheer my spirit. That precious little 
boy has the ties of affection so strongly wound around my heart 
that I could not give him up. And then I have great regard to 
the important mission which his pure and masterly mind may 



THE MEMOIR. 



453 



perform on earth. My soul has labored in prayer night and 
day, that God would give and preserve unto us this noble and 
lovely boy ; but my spirit was bowed down by the weight of a 
dubious prospect in this respect. I know it will be happy for 
him to ascend to the angelic sphere, and that, as we are to pass 
the ordeal which frees us from earth, it matters but little to us 
when that may be, as God wills. But my heart clings with a 
strong grasp to the idea of a noble earthly mission for our blessed 
James Arthur. And the result of our visit yesterday gives me 
much encouragement.* You know, from conversations we have 
often held, that I have much confidence in that method of treat- 
ment, and I have also much confidence in the diagnosis, so freely 
and so understandingly made, and it commends itself to my rea- 
son as correct. And I can but hope that this is a means which 
God has appointed, in answer to the prayers he has inspired, for 
relieving and restoring the darling boy. O ! if he will do this, 
I will work with new life, and no earthly labor shall be other- 
wise than light and joyous. 

I do not love the less our other children. I have a sentiment 
in my heart that we have yet a great work to do as an unbroken 
band. They are all equally dear to me, from the oldest to the 
youngest, -j- * * * down through all the ages and varieties 
of gifts, they are beautifully adapted to that mutual aid without 
interference, which shall make them all parts of one harmonious 
and prosperous whole. 

"You will, of course, apply freely the new prescriptions, 
which I consider safe, at least ; and Jimmy will cheerfully take 
all witli a good heart ; with prospect of a relief from his suffer- 
ings ; and, I hope and pray, in due time, a return to comfortable 
health. Let the other children render what aid they can, and 
they can do much, if they do it in faith, to relieve their little 
brother. 

*' Your husband most truly, 

''S.Cobb." 

* This was in allusion to a visit made to a new physician, and for a new method 
of treatment. 

t There follow here some words touching that "oldest" child, coming from 
the partiality and pride of a father's heart, which the memoirist could not 
properly transcribe with his own pen. 



454 



REV. SYLtANUS COBB, D.D. 



The diagnosis of this new physician was a fair and plau- 
sible one, entirely ignoring all symptoms of organic disease 
of the heart, and referring the origin of the difficulty to the 
kick of the horse, which had resulted in inflammation and 
ulceration in the neighborhood of the spleen. And, farther- 
more, as this was in accordance with the Jiopes of the par- 
ents, of course their faith was easily gained. Time passed 
on, and the boy failed. Sometimes he was moved to please 
his mother and sisters by telling them that he would like to 
get well and remain with them on earth ; but oftener his 
expressed wish was that he might die, and be with those 
beautiful angels. 

I dwell upon the circumstances connected with the sick- 
ness of little Jimmy, because they exerted a mighty influ- 
ence upon Mr. Cobb's mind ; and from the day of the death 
of that boy his faith was stronger and more firm than ever 
before ; and the blessed promises of the Gospel, and the 
system of redemption therein laid down, came to be more 
of a solemn Fact than they had been in other times. Never 
before had such sermons come from his pen. After he had 
given that child back to the Heavenly Father he preached 
of heaven and heavenly things as one who had seen and- 
felt them ; and he preached of Christ with a power and pa- 
thos that moved even sluggish hearts to love and adoration 
of the Blessed Redeemer. It was after this cup had been 
pressed to his lips that the true eloquence of his soul magni- 
fied itself, and that he talked of heaven as a sphere wherein 
he had laid up treasure. It was after the darling one of his 
cherished afiections had been taken to the bosom of the Re- 
deemer that his own heart broke away from the bonds of 
earth, and really reached with its yearning love after that 
Mighty One who, in the fulness of time, was to gather all 
things to Himself! 



THE MEMOIR. 



455 



The boy was asked on several occasions to describe the 
angels he had seen in his vision ; but his powers of lan- 
guage failed him. He said they were clothed in white, but 
it was no such white as we had on earth. At his re- 
quest his mother commenced to read to him the New 
Testament in course. One afternoon she read to him the 
seventeenth chapter of Matthew, wherein is an account of 
the Transfiguration. She had read the second verse when 
Jhumy put forth his hand for her to stop, and as she gazed 
upon him she found his countenance glowing with a happy 
radiance. 

" That's it, mother," he cried. " That's just the way the 
angels looked. You know I couldn't tell you how white 
their robes were, — but that tells it exactly. Their faces 
shone like the sun, and their robes were as white as the 
light." 

Cannot the reader catch the inspiration of the boy's 
thought at that moment? The figure of "the light" as 
applied to a color had not before presented itself to his 
mind ; and yet how simple and beautiful it was. 

We cannot give an idea of the closing scene better than 
by copying the following from the pen of the bereaved 
father : — 

'* Tuesday Morning, Feb. 24th. 

*' Though our paper is filled, and ready for the press at early 
morn, yet we must pen a word for our readers in this midnight 
hour, asking their sympathy in our bereavement. Our blessed 
boy, James Arthur, the youngest of our nine children, fell calmly 
asleep this morning, at one o'clock. Our hearts bleed for the 
sundering of ties so tender and so strong, but O the blessed com- 
fort of gospel faith, of which this little one was so bright an ex- 
ample. He has long contemplated, with serene and pleasant 
emotions, the passing hence to the world of painless, deathless 
life and glory. And now his sufferings are over, and he has 



156 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB^ D.D. 



joined the angel band that came weeks ago to greet and bid him 
?velcome. The God of grace and comfort be with us. Amen. 



*' Our last week's paper went to press before the above para- 
graph reached our office, and we let it go to our readers as it is 
this week. 

" ' Our darling's gone.'' Xever shall we forget this announce- 
ment, and the indescribable tones of resigned and affectionate 
pathos, by which we were awaked from our slumbers at one 
o'clock last Tuesday morning week. Two hours before, we had 
left our boy in the care of his eldest sister and her husband, and 
retired for brief repose ; and at one o'clock that sister glided to 
our bed-side, and pathetically exclaimed, ' Our darling's gone. 
Father! Mother! Our darling's gone."* O, the indescribable sen- 
sations produced by this announcement. Twenty-nine and a 
half years have passed since we united in the sacred ties 
which made us one for life, and forever, and nine children 
have been given us to form and bless our family circle, — and 
never before has one of the circle * gone,' to be with us in the 
body no more. 

" We arose quickly, and hastened to our little charge, and in- 
deed he was quiet and at rest. O, the bleeding of severed ties, 
and mingled thankfulness to God. We knew he could live but 
to suffer. He could see no prospect of living but to suffer. And 
he wished to go and be at rest. That night he had said to his 
watching sister, ' Haley, I wish I could die ; — when can I die ? ' 
And his wish was granted in a most beautiful manner. He had 
called for water, and on its being given him, he energetically 
pronounced it good. ' IsTow,' said he, ' fix my pillow.' She fixed 
his pillow, and he reclined his head upon it, saying, ' That is 
nice.' Immediately his sister, standing over him, saw his head 
drop slightly forward (for he was bolstered up in a sitting pos- 
ture), and she looked, and saw that his spirit had gone. Kot a 
struggle nor a gasp accompanied or followed its departure . That 
heaven-visited and angel-welcomed spirit was prepared to pass 
gently out from its earthly tenement, without another jar to a 
cord or muscle of that tenement. And the angelic band who 
had held intercourse with him, and whose converse he ever after 
continued to contemplate with sweetest pleasure, were the asso- 



THE MEMOIR. 



457 



ciates and convoy of that freed spirit, according to their promise. 
O God, we thank thee. Thy hand, in this providence, lias not 
sunk us deeper down, but it has raised us nearer to heaven. O 
God, we thank thee for thy grace, through Jesus Christ our 
Lord." 

A post-mortem examination revealed that our reliable and 
trustworthy physicians of East Boston had been correct in 
their diagnosis. The heart was found to be fully twice its 
normal size, and a large amount of water had gathered in 
its membranous sac. 

Fathers Ballon and Streeter attended the funeral, and 
rendered assistance to the pastor of the East Boston Soci- 
ety. Almost twenty-nine years before Father Ballon had 
taken into his hands and dedicated to God Mr. Cobb's first- 
born, and now he came to assist at the funeral of the last- 
born. The reader need not be told of that funeral. There 
were no outer badges of mourning, — nothing of form or 
ceremony or symbolism to tell of sadness and gloom. The 
hearts of the bereaved family were all lifted towards heaven, 
and I, for one, can truly say that the occasion was a holy 
and a blessed one. 

Almost a year passed away, and Mr. Cobb was again 
called to part with a beloved child. This time his youngest 
daughter was taken from him, Sarah Wait. She was a 
precious child ; and God knows that a more fond and de- 
voted sister never lived. Her disease was pulmonary con- 
sumption, and she lingered long, and suffered much. 

Here is another letter from that great-hearted father, 
written when the fair blossom, just bursting into woman- 
hood, had withered and drooped until only a seeming 
miracle could have restored its bloom and freshness of 
earthly beauty : — 
39 



458 



ItEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



*' MiLFOKD, Jan. 2, 1853. 

**My dear Wife, — 

*' It is Sunday evening, and I alone of all in this house am up 
and awake. In body I am here, but in mind and heart I am at 
home. O ! that blessed daughter ! How I -pray that she may be 
restored ! How much I had calculated upon in her, to cheer 
and bless us along in the evening of our days, and to do good in 
society. But O ! what a blessing it is that she is resigned and 
happy ! that while she would desire to live for our sakes, and 
for the sake of her beloved ; yet, if it is the good Father's will, 
she is willing to go and join company with the blessed Jimmy. 
But Jimmy, with his glorious company, will be willing to wait, 
if the Father wills that she should stop with us and her friends 
yet many years upon the earth. May it not be so ? 

*' I know that, as it respects herself, if she lives to rear up a 
family, and perhaps to suffer trials and disappointments on the 
way, when at length she is called from earth, she might be 
standing in relations and responsibilities which would render it 
harder than it is now. The views she has expressed to you on 
the subject are very beautiful, and a worthy example to us all. 
She has a mind to be useful if she is restored to health ; and, on 
the other hand, to go pleasantly to the higher field of labor and 
enjoyment if God calls her away. This is the true frame of 
mind for us all. We who are now in health know not what shall 
be on the morrow. We cannot be truly and understandingly 
happ3' at any time but in the spirit of that precious daughter, 
whom we love so tenderly, feeling to be in the hand of God, 
who is love, and who will be the same kind Friend to-morrow, 
whether we are in his care here, or in the heavenly land. May 
God bless her with this glorious faith evermore ! Yes — he 
WILL bless her ! I have never known a child of her pure mind 
and Christian trust, Avhom the blessed Father's love has not ac- 
companied, making all to be light and life, through to the life 
which never ends. 

"I think much of you, my dear wife, and of your important 
position. O! your countenance is the very light of heavenly 
love to that sweet, suffering child. God will bless you ! Your 
husband and your children will bless you ! And then that faith- 
ful, lovmg sister, Haley. How is dear Sarah blessed, how are 



TRE MEMOIR. 



459 



we all blessed, in her ! And the affectionate brothers ! I think 
you all over ; I carry you in my heart ; and I pray for you in 
faith. ******* 

*' Good night, dear wife, blessed Sarah, and all. God guard 
and protect you ! 

*' Yours ever, 

"S. Cobb." 



When it became evident to the failing child that she 
must die, she said she had but one request to make of her 
Heavenly Father beyond what her faith led her to believe 
he would do for her ; and that was, that her mother might 
be with her when she passed away, and that she might die 
as Jimmy died. And her prayer was answered. On the 
morning of January 17th, shortly before the breaking of 
day, her mother sat by her bedside, and, by request, sang 
to her the good old tune of Old Hundred. She loved to 
have her friends sing to her. She preferred singing to 
reading. A few minutes past six o'clock she requested her 
mother to lift her over upon her left side so that she might 
go to sleep. Tenderly the fond parent placed her in the 
required position, and then she placed her arm around her 
mother's neck, and looking up with a sweet smile, she 
said, — "That's right!" Then she reached farther out 
with her arm, and drew the face of the tireless watcher 
down until their cheeks touched ; and then, clearly and 
distinctly, though in a tone scarcely raised above a whis- 
per, she said, — 

" Sing to me, mother." 

And while the musical throbbing of her voice still 
vibrated upon the morning air she sank into quiet, peaceful 
slumber ! 

And so her prayer had been answered. Smiling in 
gratitude for the last kind office of a watching loved one, 



460 



nEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



and upon the bosom of her own idolized mother, she had 
passed from death unto life. 

What was there of dying there? She had been dying 
for long and weary weeks. But this was the glorious 
bursting of the bonds of death, and the soaring forth of 
the sweet spirit into the realms of immortal purity and 
bliss ! 



THE MEMOIB. 



461 



CHAPTER XIV. 

Eeyiew of Beecher's " Conflict of Ages," — Discussion 
TTiTH Dr. Adams, — Discussion with Hudson, — Re- 
flections ON Human Destiny, — Commentary on the 
New Testament, — The Crown of Life. 

The chief labor of the year 1853 which engaged Mr. 
Cobb's pen was his " Review of the ' Conflict of Ages,* 
By Edward BeecJier, D.DJ' There had been no book 
given to the public for years that had created so pro- 
found an excitement in religious circles, and especially in 
the Calvinistic school, as vras created by this book of 
Dr. Beecher. The "Conflict" of which he speaks exists 
betvreen man's intuitive perception and judgment of the 
principles of honor and right in God, and the doctrine of 
the eternal pain and torture which is to be meted out to so 
many human souls. For a reconciliation of this conflict 
of ages Mr. Beecher presents the hj'pothesis of a pre- 
existence of our race. He supposes that all men had an 
existence prior to their birth into this world, in a spiritual 
or angelic state, where they had powers and fair opportu- 
nities to secure to themselves eternal holiness and good ; 
but sinned there, and forfeited their claim on the imnciples 
of honor and right in God. Then God created this world ; 
and he successively sends these fallen spirits, or Satan's 
angels, into new-born animal bodies, designing out of the 
mass to redeem a church. But men have no reason to 
39 



462 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D, 



complain of God for bringing them into this world with 
depraved and sinful natures, binding them to the necessity 
of sinning and suffering here, and eternally also, if he 
should not change them while here by his sovereign grace, 
since this sinful depravity is what we acquired unto our- 
selves in a previous spiritual existence. 

Mr. Cobb gave this work a candid and critical review in 
the columns of his paper, in the course of which he labored 
not only to show how fatally Mr. Beecher had stabbed 
Orthodoxy in his conflict of ages, and how far short of the 
real wants of the human family his reconciliation came, 
but he also tried to present a system of reconciliation 
which would forever remove the whole difficulty. And 
here we have the closing paragraph of his Review, which 
plainly shows what he has been trying to impress upon the 
worthy Doctor's mind : — 

" UNIYERSALISM, then, is the true system of RECONCIL- 
IATION". It is the highway of the Lord, where every mountain 
is brought low, and every valley is exalted ; and the crooked 
made straight, and the rough places smooth ; and the wayfaring 
man, though simple, may not err therein. It spreads out 
before you, as a field of labor, the world of facts as they are ; 
and it sets you at work with a clear view of the affinity between 
your Christian labors and the effects you aim at. It presents 
you with a system of the creation, and providence, and purpose, 
and government, and judgment of God, the Father of all, har- 
monious with the principles of honor and right in the Creator, 
and with the judgment of these principles in the human soul. 
It creates a faith and inspires a hope, which clearly see in pros- 
pect that harmonization of all created spirits with the Eternal, 
from which shall flow forth the melodious voice of praise from 
the Universal whole, * we thank thee, and adore thee. Lord God 
Almighty, that thou hast so exerted, and doest, and wilt, so exert 
thine infinite powers, and so order thine infinite example, as shall 
most entirely tend to our eternal good.'' AMEN." 



THE MEMOIR, 



463 



Mr. Cobb's Review was highly esteemed by his friends, 
and the requests for its republication in book form were so 
numerous that he acceded thereto. Among the many com- 
mendatory articles from ministering brethren, I subjoin the 
following : — 

" Br. Cobb, — I want to express to you my very hearty 
approval of your ' Review ' of Dr. Beecher's late work. It is 
admired in this region, by your patrons and others who have 
been induced to read it. 

"It has been well done so far. I have heard but one opinion 
of it. I hope it will appear in book form, and be extensively 
and carefully read. Let all our friends take hold and interest 
themselves in giving it the circulation which it so richly de- 
serves. 

♦* H. Jewell. 

** Stoneham, Dec, 1853." 

« Concord, N. H., Dec. 9th, 1853. 
" Br. Cobb, — What I may say in regard to your publishing 
in book form your Review of the ' Conflict of Ages,' may not 
make one hair white or black, but I hope you will by all means 
publish that Review, — do it in a cheap form so that the million 
may read- it. Let us have one book advocating heaven's truth 
for the sake of the truth, and not so much for the sake of the 
profit — and in fact, this is the most successful method by which 
to make the profit in the end, in these times of large sales and 
small profits; but of this you are the better judge. By all 
means, I repeat, give us the book. 

"Yours truly, 

" John Moore." 

Another miriistering brother says, — 

The brethren you publish as being so highly pleased with 
your Review of Dr. Beecher, express, probably, the sentiment 
of all your readers. I hear but one expression about it, — 
everybody says, Br. Cobb has handled the discussion ably, 
interestingly, and triumphantly. Let the Review be published ; 
it will make a fresh and valuable work." 



464 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



The book was published, and met with quite an extensive 
sale ; and I think the desire of Br. Moore was complied 
with so far as publication for sake of " profit " was con- 
cerned. 

During the latter part of the year 1858, and the first 
part of 1859, Mr. Cobb held his celebrated discussion with 
Rev. Nehemiah Adams, D.D. I call it a celebrated" 
discussion because Dr. Adams was not only an acknowl- 
edged champion of Orthodoxy, but also a noted man in 
other respects ; and because the discussion at the time was 
regarded with the most profound interest by all classes of 
New England theologians. The following, from the Chris- 
tian Freeman of Dec. 10, 1858, gives the origin of the 
discussion : — 

"In the month of May, 1858, Dr. Adams published a discourse 
in advocacy of the ' Reasonableness of Future Endless Punish- 
ment.' This discourse we reviewed in the columns of the 
Christian Freeman ; and at the close of the Review we addressed 
to the author of the sermon the following 

"NOTE. 

'* 'To Rev. Dr. Adams: 

" ' Dear Sir, — In your Sermon, to the review of which I have 
devoted some labor as above, and in last week's Christian Free- 
man, though you propose to treat the reasonableness of future 
endless punishment, yet you are perpetually falling back on the 
assumption that it is true, and is asserted by the Scriptures ; and 
your argument for its reasonableness is but little else than an 
assumption based on the former assumption, to wit, that it must 
be reasonable, because in God's economy it is true. 

"'And now, I respectfully invite you, and proffer you the 
columns of the Christian Freeman for the work, to show the 
Scripturalness of future endless punishment. And to avoid 
losing the subject in a wilderness of verbiage, and in running 
quotations of fragmentary Scripture passages, I propose that 
you select the first passage which, in your judgment, clearly 



THE MEMOIE. 



465 



announces this doctrine; or, if it has crept into the Bible so 
gradually and imperceptibly that you cannot put your finger 
upon its beginning, select what you regard as one of the most 
clear and unquestionable declarations of it, and show from the 
subject of discourse, the natural force of the language, and the 
Scriptural usus loquendi, that it teaches such doctrine. And we 
will thoroughly discuss that passage before entering upon 
another. This will afford you an opportunity to carry your 
strongest reasons into several thousands of Universalist families ; 
and I earnestly hope you will accept my proposition. 
*' ' Yours most truly, 

"'S.Cobb.' 

** On the morning of July 6th we received the following 
from 

^ DR. ADAMS TO THE EDITOR. 

" 'Boston, July 6, 1858. 
*' 'Rev. S. Cobb, Editor oftlie Christian Freeman. 

"'Dear Sir, — I have received your printed note in your 
paper of the 2d inst., in which you say : " And now, I respect- 
fully invite you, and proffer you the columns of the Christian 
Freeman for the work, to show the Scripturalness of future end- 
less punishment. This will afford you an opportunity to carry 
your strongest reasons into several thousands of Universalist 
families ; and I earnestly hope that you will accept my proposi- 
tion." 

" ' The form in which you propose that I should do this, viz., 
by an exposition of isolated proof texts, each to be debated by 
you before I proceed to another, does not strike me favorably. 
I will comply with your invitation if you will allow me to do it 
in my own way, — upon one condition, that there shall be no 
notes or comments on what I write, in the number or numbers 
of your paper containing my communication. 

" 'Very respectfully yours, 

" ' N. Adams.' 

" Several notes in direct succession were subsequently inter- 
changed between us, of which we give the following extract, 
which is from our second to the Doctor : — 



466 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



" * Boston, July 6, 1858. 

*' ' Rev. N". Adams, D.D. 

" ' Your note of this morning is received. We can undoubtedly 
come to an agreement in respect to the manner of conducting 
the proposed discussion. My reasons for the method I proposed 
will undoubtedly commend themselves to your good judgment 
on your duly considering them. I have observed that the advo- 
cates of endless punishment in controversial encounters with 
Universalists, usually fill their space with a long string of pro- 
miscuous quotations from the Bible, throwing together frag- 
mentary texts regardless of the connections from which they 
are taken, presenting no argument for their use of the passages 
collected, but relying on the sound of certain phraseology upon 
the ear of popular prejudice. Then, when the Universalist fol- 
lows with his reply, he must employ argument on each passage 
he deems misused, and would be obliged to fill a volume to get 
through thus with the catalogue of texts which the other hastily 
huddled together. You see the unfairness and unprofitableness 
of this course. If you and I enter into this discussion, it will be 
with reverence for God's word, and a sincere desire to promote 
an understanding of it among our readers. And the method 
which I propose is just as fair for you as it is for me. It is, in 
its main features, the only method by which you can do the 
work which you must do in order to make the discussion of any 
manner of use to the community. 

" 'You object to my plan, requiring an " exposition of isolated 
proof texts, each to be debated by me before you proceed to 
another." In truth my plan no more requires you to explain 
isolated proof texts, than any other plan you might propose. 
Your sending to me a collection of Scripture passages unex- 
plained, and my printing them in the Christian Freeman^ would 
be of no service. You will agree with me that you are to give 
your reasons for your use of Scripture texts, and your reasons 
on the texts one by one. And the method proposed by me 
allows, and even requires you, when you have selected your 
supposed decisive proof text, to make such quotations and use 
of other and collateral texts as you may judge expedient, in 
order to sustain your use of the leading proof text. My object 
is, not to run a gauntlet, but to discuss these matters wherein 



THE MEMOIR. 



467 



we differ, rationally, and, as Professor Stuart would say, "philo- 
logically and exegetically." * * * * 

" ' Yours most truly, 

" 'S. Cobb.' 

" Finally, we acceded to the method proposed by Dr. Adams, 
providing that he should do his complete work in argument for 
future endless punishment in one long article. And we now 
regard this as the best method. It brings his whole argument 
in one continuous and connected work, under seven important 
classifications, thus giving us at once the best thing that can be 
done for the doctrine in question. If this fails, the doctrine can- 
not be sustained. 

** It will be seen by .the extract of our second note to the Doc- 
tor, that we were particularly solicitous that he should show 
reasons for whatever applications he might make of Scripture 
texts to his espoused position. If it shall be found on review 
that he has not done this, we are sure that it is not his fault, but 
the difficulty is in the nature of the case. We regard the Argu- 
ment for Future Endless Punishment as able as any that we have 
seen, and we do not believe a better can ever be produced. And 
the excellent spirit in which the work is conducted is signally 
creditable to the author. We commend the whole, ' Argu- 
ment' and ' Review,' to the candid and prayerful perusal of the 
lovers of truth, in hope that, by the blessing of God, it will con- 
duce to the honor of His declarative glory, and the spiritual 
interests of many people." 

In entering upon this work Mr. Cobb did not commit the 
error of under-estimating his opponent. He realized that 
he had one of the " great guns " of Orthodoxy levelled 
against him, and he marshalled his own forces carefully 
and surely. But there was little of strategy in his method 
of conducting argument. What of strategy he used was 
simply in turning the arguments of his opponent back 
upon himself, — and this he found frequent opportunity to 
do ; but his main dependence in argument was upon the 
overwhelming force of Right. In all matters touching the 



468 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



character and purposes of God and Jesus Christ he felt 
that he had the whole mass of the Sacred Scriptures — 
every book, chapter, verse, and line — upon his side; and 
with this force held readily at hand, every section of it be- 
ing understood by him, what earthly power could prevail 
against him. So felt the man when he took up arms 
against those who would limit God's power and goodness. 

I will not take up space here with the flattering notices 
of commendation with which the work was received by Mr. 
Cobb's friends. I haA^e a large number of them at hand, 
and I can sum up their substance in a very few words. 
When the discussion was about to commence the expression 
of opinion, publicly made by the ministering brethren was, 
that the work was in able hands. All knew that Dr. Adams 
was a powerful reasoner, and a profound scholar, and they 
all felt that Mr. Cobb was just the man on their side to 
meet him. And when the work had been done they were 
not disappointed. Writes one of our best preachers, — 

"The Adams' and Cobb's Discussion, I carefully read as it 
appeared in the Freeman. The argument for Endless Misery is 
so framed as to enter into the broad field of controversy on the 
subject, and your reply meets the Endless-Miserian Advocate at 
every pomt, and is perfectly overwhelming. It cannot fail to 
satisfy all who understandiiigly agree with you in relation to the 
great salvation. I want that discussion as a book of reference." 

And of all the words received by the publisher touching 
the merits of his argument for the " Final Holiness and 
Happiness of all God's children," this may be taken as a 
sample. 

The discussion was published in book form, and was a 
valuable addition to the Universalist library. The Liberal 
Christian, who has occasion to meet in argument the oppo- 
sers of his faith in the Will of God to save through Christ, 



THE MEMOIR. 



469 



and in the power of Christ to do the will of Him who sent 
him, will find in this book a useful and convenient aid. 
Mr. Cobb himself truly says of it : — 

"This Discussion is not a matter of mere transient interest. 
In support of Endless Punishment, it contains what able men 
who were educated in that doctrine pronounce as strong an ar- 
gument as ever has been or as can be produced, and that by one 
of the most talented of Orthodox divines. In our Reply we have 
not been satisfied merely to show that our opponent has not sus- 
tained his cause, but have labored extensively to bring out the 
true and harmonious teachings of the Scriptures on the impor- 
tant topics introduced by him, so as to make the book a general 
Biblical Expositor in relation to the great subject in controversy. 
It will be adapted to the wants of mind in all time." 

Even while this discussion with Dr. Adams was in prog- 
ress Mr. Cobb was making arrangements for another of 
equal magnitude, both in labor and in importance. I allude 
to his Discussion with Rev. C. F. Hudson upon the subject 
of " Human Destiny." As the work is before the world 
there is no need that I should occupy space here in an 
extended explanation of its character. Mr. Hudson, in 
avoiding the theory of future endless punishment, sets up, 
and labors to defend, the doctrine of the Total Annihilation 
of the wicked. Mr. Cobb's first important proposition bears 
a wondrous weight of meaning in a very few words : — 

'* In our opinion Destructionism is a reaction of revulsion from 
Orthodoxy, and not a positive principle, or a result of positive 
principles, attained to by a de-novo study of philosophy or Scrip- 
ture. It appears to us, we say it with respect, that men do not 
walk into it, — but they back into it from the repulsive force of 
the theory of endless punishment." 

This belief in the total annihilation of the " finally im- 
penitent " is more extensive than is generally supposed by 
40 



470 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D, 



those who have had no opportunity for investigating the 
subject. Our Second Advent friends, in embracing the 
faith that the wicked will be burned up and utterly de- 
stro3^ed, have " hacked down'' from the horrible imputations 
upon the Divine character of that other faith which repre- 
sents God as giving over a large part of the children he 
has created to the devil, to be tortured and abused through- 
out the unceasing ages of eternity. O, my soul ! how can 
a sentient being, possessing the loves and affections of hu- 
manity, with a beloved and idolized family gathered about 
him, — with fondly cherished children, that have the fail- 
ings and weaknesses to which flesh is heir, and that some- 
times need correction for their good, — how can a tender 
mother, whose heart goes forth in j^earning after her way- 
ward boy — the boy who has given her most pain and an- 
guish, and yet whom she loves with all the strength of a 
mother's heart, — how can such, in view of the frailty of 
poor humanity, calmly ascribe to the Great Father of all, 
whose name is Love, the will and determination to eternally 
damn the wayward and wandering of his own offspring? 
You cannot smooth it over. That is what the creed means, 
exactly. The Prince of Darkness is to so far see of the 
travail of his soul as to finally gather to himself a large 
portion of the human family, to be his to torment and to 
torture forever ! And now what did the old Prophet Isaiah 
mean when he declared that the Prince of Light and Peace 
should see of the travail of his soul, and be satisfied? 
Pardon me, dear reader, for this digression. I think we can 
see that the doctrine of annihilation must be a great relief 
to the aforetime believer in Endless Misery, and we cannot 
wonder that so many embrace it. 

The words of encouragement from various quarters which 
the editor received while engaged in this work were all of 



THE MEMOIR. 



471 



one character. It was hailed as a valuable contribution to 
our denominational literature, and the ministering brethren 
demanded that it should be published in book form as a 
work of reference. 

While we are upon the subject of Mr. Cobb's published 
works we will follow it to the end, leaving other matters of 
interest, which transpired meanwhile, to be taken up after- 
wards. 

The last, and the crowning work of Mr. Cobb's long and 
laborious life, was his Commentary upon the New Testa- 
ment^ which he denominated " The New Testament of our 
Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, with Explanatory Notes 
AND Practical Observations." In setting forth the plan 
of the work he says : — 

*' The author of these Explanatory Notes and Practical 
Observations has seen for many years the want of a book of 
this kind, comprising the New Testament and Exegetical Anno- 
tations, complete in one volume, in the interests of his cause 
in whom it pleased the Father that all fulness should dwelh 
It was to supply such a want that I undertook this labor. I have 
found it a greater labor than I anticipated in the outset. But 
God has supported me ; has made it my privilege to enjoy a 
thrilling interest throughout, in its performance ; and has brought 
me to its close in perfect health, and with even a raised estimate 
of the Book of books. I think the notes will be found sufficiently 
full, in all essential particulars, to serve the wants of inquirers 
for the sense of the Record. They could not have been much 
extended without exceeding the limits of one volume, and thus 
defeating the primary purpose of the undertaking, — the pro- 
vision of a single hand-book of the New Testament." 

The first chapter of the work was written on Friday, the 
15th of May, 1863, at the very desk where I am now writ- 
ing, the commentator being at that time on a visit to his 
friends in this town of Norway ; and from that time he 



472 



REV. SYLVAKUS COBB, D.D. 



wrote steadily and industriously for about thirteen months. 
Of course he had at hand much material which had been 
gathering during his long j^ears of theological research and 
investigation ; but it had to be all worked over and remod- 
elled for the use he would now make of it. During the 
succeeding November I spent a week at the " Castle" in 
East Boston, and I saw him at his work. While I was be- 
neath his roof he seemed to have but one thought — but one 
purpose, — and he wanted no one to interrupt him. Early 
in the morning, and late at night, he was at his desk, with 
his Bible and his manuscript. The Bible was one he had 
used almost half a century, and he told me at that time that 
during all the years of his sermonizing he never but once 
found a text for a sermon in any other copy of the sacred 
book. That once was when he was away on a tour, and 
had occasion to improvise a sermon for a special occasion. 
That old Bible and his fast-growing manuscript were the 
only companions whose company could hold him. He used 
few books of reference, for there was hardly a biblical ref- 
erence wanted that had not, during the eight-and-forty years 
of constant use, been jotted down upon the margins of his 
Bible. However, he referred to other authors when he had 
need, and no single point was left unfinished for want of a 
reference that was to be found in the country. 

He found the labor far greater than he had anticipated, 
but he assures us that God had "brought him to its close 
in perfect health." A blessed thing for him was that 
faith. I wish I had at hand a letter which I received from 
one of my brothers, written during our father's severe 
labors. My brother possesses keen perception, and his 
eyes and understanding did not deceive him. But the 
letter is lost. It told me that my father was failing — 
that the large eyes were falling back into their orbits — 



TKE MEMOIR. 



473 



that the heavy lines of care upon his brow, and about his 
lips and cheeks, were growing heavier and deeper — that 
the involuntary shaking of the head, and the stiffening of 
the step, betrayed the wear and tear of the nervous system, 
— while the perceptible stooping of the whole frame told 
that the wondrous machine was breaking up. And yet he 
thought he had come through it all in perfect health. 

Allow me to quote in this connection a few lines from a 
letter which will be given in full in a subsequent chapter. 
It is from Br. A. St. John Chambre, who was a member 
of the family during most of the time that Mr. Cobb was 
at work upon the Commentary. Br. Chambre writes, — 

"In the year 1863-4, which I spent in his house, he was 
engaged in his last and best work, the Commentary on the J^"ew 
Testament. Day after day, and far into the nights, and in the 
mornings before breakfast, he labored upon that book, during 
the entire year. I am sure that that ceaseless labor hastened 
his end. But as though he felt that his years were few on the 
earth, and that he must work while the day lasted, he would 
listen to no objections, and persevered until it was completed. 
He wrote that book with his hfe* He hterally coined his physi- 
cal and mental powers into its pages." 

I do not think Br. Chambre is far out of the way. 
Looking back now at the picture so fixed in my memory, I 
can sympathize with him in his opinion. And the picture 
is this : Early and late — late and early — the strong man 
at his desk — no rest — no respite — that pen moving per- 
sistently on — the book gTowing beneath his hand — grow- 
ing — growing ; — but not yet finished. Will the life last 
to the end? It must last. The work must be done. And 
so he crowded on all the sail the bark could possibly bear, 
as though to reach the desired haven before the flood en- 
gulphed him forever ! 

40* 



474 



EEV, STLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



The Commentary was finished about the first of June, 
1864 ; and the last sheet of manuscript passed directly 
from his desk to the compositor's hand, the rest of the 
work being in proof-print, and the revised sheets struck off. 
And the work was all that the author had hoped that it 
might be. In long, long years yet to come many a candid 
student of the Scriptures of our Lord and Saviour Jesus 
Christ shall bless the heart, the head, and the hand that 
gave that book to the world. The explanations and anno- 
tations, and the practical observations, are clear and com- 
prehensive ; and while, by their fulness and directness of 
application they render valuable assistance to the theolo- 
gian and the scholar, they are so simple that a child may 
understand them. 

The articles of commendation which have appeared in 
print in different sections of the country, would fill a vol- 
ume ; and I have also in my possession letters fi-om numer- 
ous individuals speaking in terms of unqualified commen- 
dation. Abraham Lincoln's return of thanks to the author 
for the copy of a work " which had deeply interested him," 
was a source of gratification and honest pride ; but those 
words which touched him most deeply were from his 
beloved brethren in the ministry in whose judgment and 
truth he had fullest confidence. Among the notices which 
he had most carefully marked and selected for preservation 
I find the following from the pen of Rev. J. G-. Adams — 
a man whose judgment is both sound and reliable, and who 
is not given to flattery, — a man whose many years of 
critical theological investigation and general study have 
rendered fully competent to " speak with authority." The 
article was published in the " Universalist of September 
8, 1866, and was the last scrap that Mr. Cobb ever clipped 
from a paper. Such words to him, then, upon the verge 



THE MEMOIR, 



475 



of the dark valley, were as gleams of blessed light, bring- 
ing to him the happifying conviction that he had not lived 
in vain : — 

COBB'S COMMENTARY. 

** To THE Editors of the Universalist : — 

" I desire to speak a few words in The Universalist in ref- 
erence to the Commentary on the New Testament by our well- 
known theologian and author, Rev. Dr. S. Cobb. Having had 
and used this volume in my study at home for a year past, I am 
more and more impressed with the conviction of its great worth 
to us, denominationally, and of its value as a contribution to the 
Christian literature of the age. It is a work of great ability, 
and must have cost the author long and hard labor. The clear- 
ness of the expositions of Scripture, and the manner in which 
references are kept up so that one passage shall explain another, 
all being in the reader's hand in one book, make it of inestimable 
value to the student of Biblical science, to the Sabbath School 
teacher, and to readers in the family at home. 

"I speak thus from my own experience, and I find this re- 
peated in what I learn of the work from other sources. Wher- 
ever it is attentively consulted it is most truly appreciated. Said 
an earnest woman of one of our country Societies, a few weeks 
since, in whose home I found a copy of the book, * What an 
able work it is, and of how much service it is to our denomina- 
tion! I would not be without it. Every Universalist family 
ought to have a copy of it in the house.' This is the right 
thought. It ought to be in all our families ; ought to be read 
there daily, and studied habitually. There can be no better 
daily companion than this book for the inmates of our homes. 
Let me also say, that the theological ability manifest in this 
Commentary is not more apparent than the clear spiritual in- 
sight evinced by the author in his elucidation and application 
of the Sacred Word. 

"The author of the Commentary is one of the ablest of the- 
ologians. His debates with Dr. Adams and Rev. Mr. Hudson 
do him great honor ; but his Commentary on the New Testament 
will 'keep his memory green' in many hearts and homes for 
long years to come. 



476 



BEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



"I write this under a sense of the truth of the New Testa- 
ment instruction, ' Render unto all their dues.' 

"J. G. A." 

"With an humble and appreciative recognition of the lim- 
its and bounds of human possibilities we may say that in 
Mr. Cobb is presented a remarkable instance of a life per- 
fect in all its parts, and perfect as a complete whole. 
From the day that he bore upon his shoulders to the door 
of his neighbor Sampson the hoop-poles with the proceeds 
of which he purchased the first grammar-book he ever 
owned, to the completion of his Commentary, he com- 
menced no work which he did not complete, if we except 
the Autobiography ; and that, of course, is a work which 
no mortal can do. The pen must drop before the end Com- 
eth, and other hands must finish the story. And then how 
all his labors, successful in their various parts, and meeting 
the present wants for which they were undertaken, culmi- 
nated towards the end which was the crown. When he 
commenced the writing of those eighty sermons, which 
were produced in Waterville, almost half a century ago, 
" To the Law and to the Testimony," he had a present aim 
in view ; and that aim was accomplished. And then came 
his explanatory sermons upon texts of Scripture which had 
vexed his friends, and discussions with opponents of his 
faith, each, in turn, answering the end for which it was 
taken up. And then his Compend of Divinity, perfect in 
itself, and meeting the wants which called it into existence. 
And so witli the " Adams " and the " Hudson " controver- 
sies, — they were complete, each in itself, and each had its 
own alpha and omega. And then came the end, when 
these complete parts were to be gathered together into one 
Complete Whole. He had studied enough, and enough 
had been treasured up of biblical knowledge in his mind. 



THE MEMOIR. 



A77 



to warrant him in undertaking the Commentary upon the 
New Testament — a work which gathered to itself the rich 
results of a lifetime of toil and research — a work which 
will endure for ages yet to come, — and a work which must 
transmit his memory, fresh and verdant, to generations yet 
unborn. So was his life complete, and he was ready to 
render an account to the Master of his stewardship : - 
"Lord, thou deliveredst unto me five talents: behold I 
have gained besides them five talents more." 

And from the realms of fhe Unseen, borne to his soul 
through the ear of Faith, cometh the blessed sentence : 

" Well done, thou good and faithful servant ! Thou hast 
been faithful over a few things ; I will make thee ruler ^ 
over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord I " 



478 



JIEV. STLVANUS C0££, D.D. 



CHAPTER XV. 

Visit to New York and Philadelphia, — Comikg to 
THE Rescue, — A " Simile," — Starting foe the West, 
— Out West, — First Mission to Canada, — Second 
Mission to Canada, — Third ditto, — At his old 
Labors of Pioneering. 

In the early autumnal weeks of 1853 Mr. Cobb visited 
New York, in companj^ with his wife, and was there on the 
occasion of the grand exhibition at the Crystal Palace. 
From New York he went on to Philadelphia, where he had 
a son residing, and where he passed a pleasant season. 
This was his first visit to the " City of Brotherly Love," 
and he saw many things that interested him. He preached 
for Br. Henry Bacon, in the Church of the Messiah, and 
formed new friendships that were destined to endure to the 
end of his life. Of course he could not leave that cit}^ with- 
out paying a \isit to Independence Hall. In his journal 
he says, — 

" We have just been to Fairmouut, and viewed the Keservoir 
from which the city is supplied with water, and the works by 
which the water is forced up into the Reservoir from the Schuyl- 
kill. We have also made a call at the old Independence Ilall, 
in which the Continental Congress prepared and signed the Dec- 
laration of Independence. We sat in the old chairs which were 
occupied by Thompson and Hancock, and upon the bench on 
wdiich Washington, Lafayette, and Franklin sat, which was made 
of Washington's pew taken from a Presbyterian Church. On a 
block in the hall sits the old bell which rang the proclamation 



THE MEMOIR. 



479 



of liberty. The bell was cast by Pass & Stow, in Philaclelpbia, 
in 1753, with the inscription in large raised letters, 'Proclaim 

LIBERTY THROUGHOUT ALL THE LAND, TO ALL THE INHABI- 
TANTS THEREOF.' What a remarkable coincidence, that this 
very bell did perform the divine office assigned it by this pro- 
phetic inscription, twenty-three years after it was cast. The 
minute after the name of the last delegate was affixed to the 
' Declaration,' this bell was pealing out its notes of Liberty. 

"But we cannot further particularize. Suffice it to add, that 
the pleasantness of the weather throughout, with the kindness 
and urbanity of the people, and all circumstances combined, ren- 
dered exceedingly pleasant our first visit to Philadelphia." 

It will be borne in mind that even on his travels Mr. 
Cobb was continually busy with the editorial department 
of his paper. "While on this visit to New York and Phila- 
delphia he had in hand his Review of Beecher's Conflict of 
Ages. His custom was, wherever he might be spending the 
night, when the family were ready to retire, to call for pen 
and ink, and devote some of those hours, which should 
have been given to sleep, to the work of preparing editorial 
matter for his paper , and often, in those few hours thus 
filched from the proper season of rest and recuperation, 
when all was quiet and hushed around him, would he per- 
form a full day's work. 

During the month of June, 1854, he visited his native 
town of Norwa}", and was present at the meeting of the 
Maine Convention of Universalists which was holden there 
on the 28th and 29th insts. It was my privilege to attend 
those meetings, and there was one circumstance connected 
therewith which will long be remembered by many of those 
who were in attendance. The last day of the meeting was 
very pleasant, and many people had come in from the sur- 
rounding countr}^, fully expecting to enjoy a feast of fat 
things. In the forenoon a sermon was preached, and in 



480 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB, D.D. 



the afternoon another sermon was preached ; and this was 
to have conchided the services of the occasion. But the 
people were not satisfied. They had not heard what their 
souls yearned for. The sermons had both been good, but 
they had not met the spiritual wants of that congi'egation. 
They had been very finel}^ written essaj^s, containing good 
thoughts clothed in most proper language ; but there had 
been not one particle of that gospel power that moves the 
soul to jo3^, and lifts the heart up nearer to God and heaven. 
The last preacher had pronounced his Amen^ and the con- 
cluding hymn had been read ; but it did not seem possible 
that the convention could close in such a spirit. It did not 
seem right. The only limit to the time that could be de- 
voted to the meeting was the starting of the cars by which 
some of the brethren and sisters must go towards Portland. 
I noticed that a few of the veterans had their heads togeth- 
er. " This will never do ! " said Ezra F. Beal, pulling out 
his watch, and consulting it a moment. " We must not 
let our meeting close in this fashion. We must be warmed 
up ! " 

It was found that a full hour might be safely spent be- 
fore the cars would leave, and thereuxDon " Uncle Ezra," 
after conferring with a few others, while the choir was sing- 
ing the hymn, went to Mr. Cobb and told him that he must 
wind up the meeting with one of his glorious old Universal- 
ist speeches. Mr. Cobb needed no urging. Those who 
had framed the order of exercises for the occasion had not 
known that he would be jDresent ; so he had had no part 
assigned him ; but his soul was in arms, and he was 
anxious to lift up his voice in that place where he had lis- 
tened to the word of God in the days of his boyhood, and 
where, when a mere 3^outh, he had preached to some of those 
who now, after the lapse of many years, wished to hear 



THE MEMOIR. 



^481 



him again. And so, after the hymn had been sung, an- 
nouncement was made that we had yet almost an hour on 
our hands, and " Father Cobb" was called upon to address 
the assembly. 

I have heard that man speak many times, but I never 
heard him speak better than he did on that occasion. His 
whole spirit was in perfect harmony with the desires and 
needs of the people, and he launched forth upon one of 
those grand themes which he knew so well how to handle. 
In short, it was a Universalist speech — Universalist at 
the beginning, in the middle, and at the close. It was a 
picture of the j)ower, the majesty, the goodness, and the 
fatherhood of God, with a consideration of the mission of 
Jesus Christ, and the power of the Son, through the Father, 
to accomplish the work which had been given him to do. 
He 'spoke over half an hour — spoke to an audience that 
listened with almost breathless attention, -r- and when he 
had concluded, and the people wended their way from the 
church, they felt that it had been good for them that they 
had been there. 

While we have Mr. Cobb here in the town of Norway I 
am reminded of an anecdote, or, rather of a simile, which 
he has often used, and which was drawn from one of the 
sports of his boyhood. On a certain occasion, when Mr. 
Cobb was present with a number of ministering brethren, 
the conversation turned upon the subject of the Mationalis- 
tic tendency of some of our clergymen, and the fear was 
expressed that it might bring the whole denomination into 
discredit. If so many of those claiming our fellowship are 
inclined to treat certain portions of tlie Sacred Scriptures 
as of no authority as words of inspiration, may not we who 
are free from such stain be implicated ? But Mr. Cobb had 
no fears. He said that a bad man might pass himself at 
41 



482 



JiEV. SYLVAXUS COBB^ D.D. 



times for a good man ; but societj' seldom mistook a true 
and devout Christian for a rascal. And so a man who 
claimed that he was not called upon to place full reliance 
in all parts of the Sacred Record might pass himself off 
upon society as a safe Christian teacher ; but there was no 
danger that society would ever mistake the earnest, sincere, 
and devout believer in the Inspired Volume for an infidel ; 
and in illustration he related the following : — 

"A brook runs through the homestead farm, called Sucker 
Brook. Early in the spring, just after the ice breaks up in the 
pond into which the brook flows, the fish called suckers run up 
the stream, and in the night they come out from their hiding 
places and lie about on the bottom of the open sti-eam. In the 
days of our boyhood we used to go out upon the banks of the 
stream, with birch bark torch in one hand and spear in the other, 
and catch this species of fish. Sometimes we would get our eye 
on a hemlock knot or a club lying \\^on the bottom of the stream, 
which somewhat resembled in shape a fish. As we would look 
upon it, the ripphng motion of the water would cause the object 
to appear as if slightly moving its extremities,- and we would 
almost believe it was a fish, but always with doubt. But at 
length we would thrust the spear, and lo, up came a club. But 
we never committed a mistake the other way, nor had occasion 
to stop and query. We never mistook a real fish to be a club. 

"Just so with our comet-riding philosophers who choose to 
wear the Christian name. They say so many complimentary 
things of the Bible, and Christ, and inspiration, and miracles, 
that we are oft inclined to believe that they are really Christian 
in faith ; and yet we see so much of their equivocal definings that 
we are at best in doubt. But we never had doubt on the other 
hand. When the true enlightened Christian believer plants him- 
self upon the foundation of the prophets and apostles, Jesus 
Christ himself being the chief corner stone, he is ingenuous, un- 
hesitating, open, bold, and seen and knowm of all men as what 
hens, a believer in the prophets of the Old and the Christ of the 
New Testament, as reliable in their respective missions as or- 
dained and attested of God." 



THE MEMOIR. 



483 



During the month of July, 1855, Mr. Cobb made another 
visit to New York, preaching two Sabbaths in Rev. Mr. 
Balcli's pulpit ; and also visiting Newark, N. J. It was the 
first time he was ever in the latter place, and he expressed 
himself as much pleased with what he saw in that " City of 
Churches." Rev. A. St. John Chambre, between whom and 
himself there had existed a warm and enduring friendship, 
was settled in Newark at the time, and he did what he could 
to make " Father Cobb's " visit pleasant and profitable ; and 
here Mr. Cobb formed other friendships which I know were 
mutually warm and true. 

In the Summer of 1860, Mr, Cobb, in company with his 
wife, made his first visit to the "great West," and it proved 
to him one of the most pleasant and agTeeable trips in his 
long and varied experience of travel. He went by the way 
of New York and Philadelphia, preaching on Sunday, Au- 
gust 26th, for the Eighth Street Universalist Societ}^ in 
the latter city. From Philadelphia he rode 336 miles, to 
Altoona, where he found a kind and hospitable friend in 
Mr. D. R. Miller, of the Logan House." From Altoona a 
ride of 117 miles brought him to Pittsburg, where he had 
occasion for gratitude to Bros. Alfred P. Anshutz, and J. 
C. Bufi'am for the many acts of kindness they did for the 
comfort of himself and wife. From Pittsburg a night ride 
of 188 miles brought him to Crestline, where he took break- 
fast ; and thence, 206 miles, to Indianapolis, where he 
found a pleasant home with Bro. M. G. Lee, of the "•JB[e7'ald 
and Eray August 30th, Mr. and Mrs. C. pursued their 
course 110 miles, to Cincinnati, where they were indebted 
to the kindness of Br. John E. Jones and his estimable 
lady for the comforts of home. 

Sunday, Sept. 2d, Mr. Cobb ]oreached in Cincinnati in 
the forenoon, and in the afternoon he preached four miles 



484 



BEV. SYLVAXUS COBB^ D.D. 



\ 



distant, at a small agricultural settlement called Delhi. 
While stopping in C. his old friend Arad Gerry, Esq., of 
Stoneham, Mass., gave himself and wife a pleasant carriage- 
ride through the principal portions of the city and its sub- 
urbs. And from here Mr. Cobb crossed over into Kentuckj^, 
his first ingress into a Slave State. 

From Cincinnati he went to Muncie, Ind., to attend the 
Indiana State Convention, in the proceedings of which he 
took several important parts. His home while in Muncie 
was with Br. Charles F. Willard, whose kindness, together 
with that of his wife, Mr. Cobb declared would "constitute 
a bright memory in his life's pathway." At the close of 
the Convention he returned to Pittsburg, where he spent 
three days, preaching there on Sunday, Sept. 16th. " The 
Everlasting Smoke " afforded him a theme for an extended 
paragraph in his Journal, though he found many things in 
that smoky city of more than passing interest. From 
Pittsburg he travelled- homeward by the outward-bound 
route, reaching the " Castle " safe and sound, feeling that 
he had gained much by the journej^, and that his deepest 
gratitude was due to the Father of all Mercies for the 
manifold blessings that had been showered upon him. 

Early in the Summer of 1861 Mr. Cobb made a visit to 
another section of the countr}^ which his feet had never 
before trod, this time turning his steps towards Canada 
West. He had long been desirous of meeting with the 
Universalist brethren of the Queen's dominions, and when 
he saw a notice of their Association, to be holden on the 
14th, 15th, and 16th days of June, at Port Dover, he 
determined to be there. He took the cars at the Boston 
Depot of the Norwich and Worcester route on Saturday, 
June 8th. He went, by the way of New York, spending 
the Sabbath in Brooklyn, and preaching in that city for 



THE MEMOIR. 



485 



Br. N. M. Gaylord. On Wednesday, the 12th, he reached 
Port Dover, C. W., where he found warm friends, and 
which place he liked ; and here he remained during the 
sessions of the Association. There were a goodly number 
present, but many of them had come from great distances, 
some having travelled two hundred miles to be present at 
the meeting. On the 18th he preached a lecture in Sel- 
kirk, sixteen miles distant from Port Dover ; and at the 
close of the services a Rev. Mr. Warner, of a sect yclept 
the " Disci2Jles" had some questions to ask, which led to 
quite a discussion upon the subject of the " Last Judg- 
ment;" and those who are acquainted with Mr. Cobb's 
powers in that direction can easily imagine how the discus- 
sion ended. One lady, kind-hearted and intelligent, who 
had listened with deepest interest, after the controversy had 
been brought to a close, expressed herself as having been 
brought, by the teachings of the evening, to really love 
Universalism ; but she had one important question she 
would like to ask concerning the Final Judgment, and that 
was : What is meant by that passage of Scripture which 
says, — "^s death leaves us, so judgment ic ill find us J' 
She was somewhat mortified when she was brought to 
understand that there was no such passage in the Bible. 

After various peregrinations Mr. Cobb returned by the 
way of New York, preaching on Sunday, the 23d, in New- 
ark, and reaching home on Tuesday morning. 

In early autumn of this same year Mr. Cobb made a 
second mission into Canada. During his first visit, after 
the brethren of the household of faith had heard him 
preach, and had become convinced that he was just Ihe 
man to give gospel light to those who dwelt in darkness, 
they urged him to tarry with them, and preach in places 
where there was need of his services ; but he could not do 
41* 



486 



MEF. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



it. He promised them, liowever, that at some future time, 
if he could make it convenient, he would make them an- 
other visit ; and this he did in September. And on this 
occasion he worked as of old. We need not follow him on 
his peregrinations. Read the following closing paragraph 
of his Journal, and yoM will be able to form some concep- 
tion of the work he performed : — 

"AT HOME AGAIN. 

" 'Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.' 
Oct. 23d, we are brought in safety to our waiting family and 
business charge, finding all in health, peace and gladness. We 
trust that we are not insensible to our obligations to our Father 
in heaven, for his protecting care over us through this tour of 
nearly seven hundred miles out, occupying four weeks, preserv- 
ing us in perfect health, and sustaining our health to preach, 
without fatigue, almost every evening after reaching Canada, 
and twice each on two of the Saturdays and three of the Sun- 
days. And, as it is well known to those who have experience 
in such work, in these missionary, and, in some instances, 
pioneer labors, it is not practicable to contract any sermon to a 
measure of time less than an hour." 

During this tour he preached twenty-two sermons. 

In June, 1862, Mr. Cobb made yet another visit to Can- 
ada, and attended again the annual session of the Univer- 
salist Association at Smithville. On the way he stopped 
at Niagara, where, with his wife, he found a welcome and 
comfortable home with his friend, T. G-. Hulett, Esq., who 
had exacted from them a promise that they would make his 
house their home whenever they might find themselves in 
that region. Concerning this third mission into Canada 
we will only add that old bonds of friendship were newly 
cemented ; new bonds formed ; and impressions left upon 
many hearts that will ever hold Mr. Cobb and his estima- 



THE MEMOIR. 



487 



,ble companion in lionored and grateful remembrance. And 
our Canada friends may take to themselves the assurance, 
which may be to them pleasing, that the last missionary 
labors of him who had labored so long and so extensively 
in that field, were performed with and for them. And they 
can judge how faithfully he served them, and how produc- 
tive of good among them his labors were. 

And thus, in the evening of his life, was he engaged as 
in the early morning. In those other times the sun had 
shone not more brightly than in these of which we now 
write ; only then it was in the Eastern horizon, arising for 
the journey of the day ; while now it was in the West, its 
beams soft and mellow, but none the less effulgent. — In 
the West — slowly sinking — its disc almost touching the 
everlasting hills behind which, ere long, its glorious face 
was to be hidden from mortal sight. — Hidden, but not 
lost. No, no, — the sun of such a life cannot go out. 
When its course is run, and its evening rest is found, it 
still gives of its light to the fair-faced planets, thus smiling 
back upon the earth it has left, even in the hour of deepest 
night. And so the good works of such a man, set in the 
heaven of grateful memory, must continue to reflect back 
upon earth the enduring light of his life ! 



488 



BEV, STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

Visit to Washington, — Old Friends and New, — A 
CASE OF "Mutual Admiration," — Marlboro', — His 
Labors and Success in that Place, — Other Labors, 
— His last Preached Sermon. 

During the month of January, previous to the third 
Canada mission, Mr. Cobb, for the first time in his life, 
made a visit to the Capital of the nation. He started from 
home January 24th, 1862, stopping over Sunday in Phila- 
delphia, where he preached, in the morning in the Church 
of the Messiah, and in the Eighth Street Church in the 
evening. 

On arriving at the depot in Washington he was met at 
the cars by his friend, Austin Fowler, Esq., of Worcester, 
Mass., at that time holding an important position in the 
Treasur}^ Department, and who had corresponded with him 
in relation to this visit. Mr. Cobb in his Journal speaks of 
Mr. Fowler as a noble, whole-souled man, expressing for him 
a love such as only can endure between congenial hearts. 
His friend Fowler (" Just like him ! " says Mr. Cobb,) had 
a carriage in waiting, and conveyed him to the mansion of 
Br. Vassall, where he was to find a home while at the 
Capital. 

Although this was Mr. Cobb's first visit to Washington, 
he was far from being among strangers ; and it was his 
good fortune not only to have been long known to many of 
the dignitaries by reputation, but with quite a number of 



THE MEMCITi 



489 



the most important of them he was intimately acquainted. 
When he called upon the Vice-President he met an old 
schoolmate, between whom and himself existed a warm and 
enduring friendship, and whose friendship was of much 
service at that particular time. And so in both houses of 
Congress, and in all the Departments, Mr. C. met those 
with whom he had been on terms of intimacy at other times, 
and in other places, and hence his visit was rendered ex- 
ceedingly pleasant and profitable, as these old friends all 
seemed willing and anxious to extend to him and his wife 
every courtesy within their power. 

On Tuesday, January 28th, he visited several of the 
departments, and also called in upon the Senate and the 
House of Representatives. In the Senate the Vice-Presi- 
dent greeted him cordially ; and at the other wing of the 
Capitol he gained a seat upon the floor of the House. In 
♦ the evening he attended the President's Levee, where he 
and his wife were introduced to Abraham Lincoln. As 
Mrs. Cobb was introduced she said to him, — " Mr. Lin- 
coln, before I left my home I resolved, if I gained an 
opportunity to speak with you, I would say that I consid- 
ered it a suflScient introduction to the President that I had 
cast seven votes towards his election — through my hus- 
band and six sons." President Lincoln grasped her hand 
a second time, and jocosely remarked, — "That reminds 
me of an incident over at a review across the Potomac the 
other day. As I was leaving the ground a man whom I 
was passing exclaimed, — ' There goes Old Abe. I'm glad 
I cast two votes for him ! ' I turned," continued the Presi- 
dent, " and asked him if he cast them both at once." 

By particular invitation of the President Mr. Cobb and 
his lady were seated in a commodious ante-room, where 
they enjoyed an opportunity of reviewing the vast proces- 



490 



REV. SYLVANUS CGBB, D.D. 



sion that thronged the Reception Eoom, taking the hand 
of the Chief Executive, and bowing as they passed. 
Saj^s Mr. Cobb, in his Journal, — 

"Among the worthies whom we had the pleasure of meeting 
and greeting here, who also tarried some time in this cozy 
apartment, were Gen. Banks and his lady, and Mrs. Pierpont, 
as old acquaintances ; and, by introduction, Gen. Jas. W. Eip- 
ley ; Hon. Mr. Crittenden of Kentucky ; Judge Wilkins, Secre- 
tary of War under President Tyler ; and last, not least, the new 
and live Secretary of War, Mr. Stanton. Him, in the vigorous 
emotions of our soul, we strongly clasped about the shoulders 
in our arms, told him of the earnest look of the country towards 
him, and bade him God-speed. With a beaming and lively 
countenance he evinced a reciprocal emotion, and, as he passed 
on, said, 'You must pray for me.' Then, turning to pass out, 
he again took the hand of our companion, to whom he had of 
course been introduced, repeating, ' I said to your husband that 
lie must pray for me.' Noble public servant, — we do remember 
him personally, in our prayers for our government in all its 
departments." 

On Friday Mr. Cobb entered the House of Representa- 
tives just as Judge Kelly, of Philadelphia, was commenc- 
ing his powerful speech in answer to a member who had 
been opposing the policy of confiscating the slave property 
of Rebels. The chair in front of the Judge happened to 
be vacant, and upon that Mr. C. seated himself. He lis- 
tened earnestly until the speech was concluded, and then, 
in the fulness of his heart, and the ardor of the moment, 
he started to his feet, and grasping Mr. Kelly by the hand, 
he warmly expressed, in his blunt, free-hearted way, the 
gratitude he felt in having been permitted to hear that 
speech. The Judge was far from being displeased by the 
compliment, as we shall see anon. 

On Sunday Mr. Cobb preached in Rev. Wm. Henry 
Channing's Church, and he had good attendance, both in 



THE MEMOIR. 



491 



the morning and in the evening. Quite a number of Sen- 
ators and Representatives were present, and the preacher 
gave them one of his old-fashioned Universalist sermons. 
At the close of the morning's services one of the first to 
greet Mr. Cobb as he descended from the pulpit, was Judge 
Kelly. " Mr. Cobb," said he, grasping the preacher by 
the hand, " allow me to return the compliment you be- 
stowed upon me. I can truly say that I thank you for 
that sermon." It was a pleasant little episode, and it 
formed and cemented ti friendship based upon mutual 
esteem and respect, 

On the following day Mr. Cobb left the Capital for home, 
entirely satisfied with his visit, and shortly after his arrival 
at the " Castle " he received the following letter from the 
friend through whose influence he had been induced to make 
the visit : — 

" Washington City, Feb. 10th, 1862. 

"My Brother, — Your visit in every respect appears, as I 
view it on my return, to have been what I predicted it would be 
— A DECIDED SUCCESS. Very intelligent men speak in hearty 
praise of your labors in the pulpit here. Some, being choice 
friends of mine, have gladdened my heart by such cordial and 
faithful credit to you ; while others, bearing the ' representative' 
character, and being gentlemen of high mental attainments, in 
speaking so highly of your services, do fairly stamp the pro- 
ceedings with peculiar and lasting interest. 

"I hope nothing went amiss with you after I left for Boston, 
from whence I am just returned. A line from you, or dear Mrs. 
Cobb, will be thankfully received. 

" Truly and kindly yours, 

"Austin Fowler. 

"To Kev. S. Cobb." 

During the month of May, 1863, Mr. Cobb received a re- 
quest from Mr. Chipman, of Marlboro', to preach in that 
town, it being understood that he (Chipman) was to pay 



492 



EEV. SYLVAXUS COBJl, D.D. 



him for his services. He went on the first Sabbath in June, 
and fulfilled the appointment. It then appeared that three 
gentlemen had agreed to furnish each a Sundaj^'s preaching 
in Marlboro' by a UniTersalist minister ; and when the other 
two had heard Mr. Cobb preach for their companion they, 
in turn, engaged him to preach for them. When this third 
service had been performed a subscription was raised, and 
Mr. Cobb was engaged to preach for them every other Sab- 
bath, for three months. At the expiration of the three 
months he was engaged for six months. 

And from that time Mr. Cobb was the stated preacher of 
the Word in Marlboro', and under his care a large society 
grew into life and flourished exceedingl3^ He loved the 
society as he had loved all societies that had gi-own up 
under his charge, and all that lay in his power to do for 
them he did. In October, with the assistance of his wife, 
who accompanied him much of the time, he organized and 
set in effective operation a Sabbath-School, which, for com- 
parative numbers and interest was not to be excelled by 
any in the State. And the children of that Sabbath-School 
conceived a deep and ardent love for then- kind preacher ; - 
and on the 17th of July, 1864 — Mr. Cobb's 66th birth- 
day — they presented him with a beautiful album, contain- 
ing the photographs of a large number of the teachers and 
children, as a token of their afi'ection" and esteem. He 
continued to preach for this Society until February of 1865, 
wben, feeling that the interests of the growing society de- 
manded that they should have a settled minister with them,- 
and being unable to longer bear the burden of the labor 
his love for them had led him to impose upon himself, he 
sought and obtained for them the services of Rev. Wm. A. 
Start, a young man of superior attainments, and of much 
promise. Mr. Start had been serving in the army as 



THE MEMOIR. 



493 



Chaplain, and as the Marlboro' brethren had expressed a 
preference for him, Mr. Cobb obtained his release from his 
military position ; or, at least, was instrumental in obtain- 
ing it, and saw him in due time installed over the important 
charge. 

Mr. Start was installed as Pastor of the Universalist 
Society in Marlboro' on the 9th of May, 1865, and on that 
occasion it devolved upon Mr. Cobb to make the Charge 
upon the Delivery of the Scriptures to the Pastor elect. 
And that charge, the last service of the kind ever performed 
by the faithful father in Israel, and prepared expressl}^ for 
the occasion, was deemed by those who heard it one of the 
best efforts of the kind ever made. 

I may add here that in Mr. Cobb the good people of 
Marlboro' found just the man to lift them up to an under- 
standing and appreciation of the value of the Gospel in its 
fulness of Love and Blessing, and that they fully estimated 
and acknowledged his services. They regarded him, while 
he lived, as the father of their Society ; while he, in turn, 
loved them, and prayed for them continually. But he could 
not have served them when they came to need a settled pas- 
tor ; and I know that Mr. Cobb felt in his heart to bless God 
for the fortune that had secured to them in that capacity 
^ the services of Bro. W. A. Start. 

After being relieved of his responsibility in Marlboro* 
Mr. Cobb preached in various places, averaging about half 
the time, during the succeeding year. But he ought not to 
have done it. There were times when he almost fainted in 
the pulpit, and when, even in prayer, his voice utterly failed 
him, as though there were some mighty convulsion within 
that for the moment paralyzed his vocal powers. And yet 
he talked of "colds," and of "accidental fatigues," just 
such as he might have met in the other years when there 
42 



494 liEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

ft 

had been no jar in the system, and such as would disappear 
upon rest and simple medication. And he loved to talk of 
how strong and well he was, flattering himself all the while 
that he was in perfect health. But he could not give up. 
His mind was never stronger, nor were his reasoning pow- 
ers ever more clear and ready for use. The Scriptures had 
become as a book thoroughl}^ mastered unto him, and his 
soul yearned, as in other times, to break the bread of life 
to his fellow-men. 

On Sunday, the 28th day of April, 1866, he preached in 
Newark, N. J., and on the 20th of May following he 
preached in Canton, Mass. He came home from Canton 
suffering from one of his " colds." In fact, he had been 
suffering from it for some time ; so that his wife, when she 
saw him depart, entered in her diary, ere she retired to her 
rest on that Saturday night: " Lord, do thou give him 
strength for the duties of the daj^, and return him to me in 
health and peace ! " 

And when, on Monday, she saw him return, apparently 
no worse for his labors, she was led to exclaim, in the ful- 
ness of her heart: "Bless the Lord, O my soul, that my 
darling husband has been returned to me so well ! " 
. And that was the last of Mr. Cobb's preaching. Never 
again was his voice to be lifted up in the sacred pulpit in 
behalf of the glorious cause of the Redeemer he had so long 
and so faithfully served. His physicians — the best in 
the city — placed their edict upon him, and his ministerial 
labors were at an end. They pointed out to him that his 
only hope of a longer hold upon life lay in a strict and en- 
tire abstinence from public speaking. He yielded for the 
present ; but he was not entirely despondent. His pen was 
left him yet, and with that he might still speak to a world 
whose good was an object that lay very near to his heart. 



THE MEMOIR. 



495 



CHAPTEE XVII. 

Back with the Editor, — Sells to Usher and Quinby, — 
Merging of Two Papers into One, — "Trumpet and 
Freesian," — Another Move, — The " Publishing 
House," — A New Name, — " Theological Editor," — 
" Doctor of Divinity," — The old Veteran ill at ease 
— "Farewell, Old Chair! " — Lecturing and Speak- 
ing, — Characteristics as a Lecturer, — His last Lit- 
erary Effort, — Repose. 

We will now take up, and cany to its close, Mr. Cobb^s 
career as an Editor ; and I am inclined to the opinion that 
this was, after all, his most important mission, as we must 
include therein the production of his books. Through the 
medium of the pulpit and the rostrum he did much ; but it 
was through the medium of his printed thoughts that he 
stamped his mind upon the denomination and upon the 
countrj^, putting forth a power that was to be felt and ac- 
knowledged, and bending circumstances so fi^ to his will 
as to be able to see every one of his earnest desires literally 
accomplished. 

At the commencement of the twenty-second volume, in 
the Spring of 1854, Mr. Cobb made new outlays of money 
for tlie purpose of enhancing the value of his paper ; and it 
is safe to say that he left nothing undone that lay within 
his wisdom to contrive, and power to accomplish, towards 
that end. He had been publishing the Freeman twenty- 
one years, and he was willing to turn all the results of his 



496 EEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 

long experience over to the benefit of his patrons. He told 
them what he had done in times past ; and he told them what 
he would do in the time to come ; and then he begged them 
to come up and help him. He stated to them plainly his 
wants, and he hoped they would lend an attentive ear to his 
appeal. Many of his subscribers answered promptly, and 
to such he extended his warmest gratitude ; but many others 
neglected him, and gave him cause for sorrow. At this 
time the weekly expenses of his office were $150.00 in ad- 
dition to the expense for the support of his family. Said 
he to his subscribers, — 

'*We pay rent, but receive none. We pay interest, but re- 
ceive none. Our expenses must be paid promptly, or our busi- 
ness must stop. But the resources for such j^ayment lie scat- 
tered over thousands of miles of territory. If, therefore, our 
patrons do not remit promptly, what shall we do ? If we are 
compelled to hire on extra interest, that extra will by and by 
eat us up. To send out collectors is ruinously expensive, espe- 
cially through regions where subscribers are scattering. What 
then shall be done? What? Why, a very simple and easy 
thing may be done. Each one who owes us may enclose his 
due to us immediately, or very soon. There is enough due us 
to make our pecuniary circumstances agreeable and pleasant." 

Again he says, — 

*• Our editorial and other labors are great, and only an iron 
constitution could bear them. But a failure to meet our pecu- 
niary obligation wears our mind and nervous system more than 
all the labor of both the Adams and Hudson Discussions." 

Mr. Cobb struggled on, abating not one whit of his old 
energy and perseverance ; laboring early and late ; v/riting 
his editorials upon the wing, in railway cars, and on board 
steamboats ; travelling hither and thither, far and near ; 
collecting the dues of his delinquent subscribers ; preach- 



THE MEMOIR. 



497 



ing on the Sabbath, and lecturing before Lyceums, and 
other public assemblies, on week days, — working, work- 
ing, working, as though work were life, and rest a state 
not necessary to the recuperation of wasted powers. But 
this was not to continue much longer. He had borne about 
all he could bear, and tired nature demanded repose. He 
strove on until he became satisfied that while he continued 
to publish his paper he must hold strength to bear up 
under the old load of trial and perplexity ; and, being at 
length convinced that he could not safely bear the burden 
longer, he made up his mind that he would throw it off as 
soon as he had opportunity. And that opportunity was at 
hand. 

In the Spring of 1861 (March 21st) Eev. Thomas AVhit- 
temore, the publisher of the Trumpet, passed from this 
life to the higher sphere, and shortly after that his .paper 
was purchased by Rev. James M. Usher, who had for some 
time previous had charge of the book and publishing 
establishment connected therewith. 

Early in the spring of 1862 arrangements were made for 
uniting the CrmiSTiAN Freeman and the Trumpet into one 
paper. Rev. George W. Quinby, then of Middletown, 
Conn., who had formerly published and edited the " Star 
in the West'' and who was a thorough editorial manager in 
every respect, entered into a copartnership with Mr. Usher, 
and the two together bought out Mr. Cobb's pecuniary 
interest in the Freeman, thus consolidating the whole Uni- 
versalist publishing interest of Boston, so far as weekly 
papers were concerned, into one establishment ; and the 
offspring of this union was named " The Trumpet and 
Celristian Freeman." Mr. Cobb was retained as Editor- 
in-Chief of the paper, Brs. Usher and Quinby acting as 
Associate Editors. 

42* 



498 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



And here allow me to remark that from that time, while 
Mr. Cobb remained upon earth, the friendship between 
himself and those two brothers was never broken — never 
shaken. It was warm, true, and enduring. Br. Usher he 
had known from early j^outh, and years before, while resid- 
ing in Maiden, the said brother had been a member of his 
family. Both loved Mr. Cobb for his many good qualities 
of head and heart, and I think they never withheld a favor 
which was in their power to grant. The union was a har- 
monious and happy one, and Mr. Cobb still continued to 
throw his whole soul into his editorial work. But this 
arrangement was not long to continue. 

For some years there had been a desire on the part of a 
number of the ministering brethren that steps should be 
taken towards the establishment of a paper to be published 
and controlled by the Denomination ; and even before the 
death of Mr. Whittemore some of these brethren had ap- 
proached Mr. Cobb to ascertain on what terms he would 
dispose of the Freeman ; but at that time he was not 
anxious to sell, and the price which he set put a bar to 
further negotiations. Many able men among our ministers 
were opposed to the project, feeling that a paper so owned 
and conducted could have no individuality of sentiment and 
purpose ; but as they were not directly interested they 
offered no serious objection, and placed n6 obstacles in the 
way of its accomplishment. The men who had charge of 
the movement were industrious and persistent, and at length 
the desire of their souls was gratified. An association was 
formed, called " The- New England Universalist Publishing 
House" and to that association Messrs. Usher and Quinby 
sold their entire establishment — Books, Papers, Plates, 
and all. So the Trumpet and Christian Freeman, in the 
month of November, 1862, became the property of the 



THE MEMOIR. 



499 



"Publishing House," ]Mi'. Cobb being retained as Theologi- 
cal Editor. 

The following letter tells its own story : — 

«' Tufts College, July 8, 1863. 

"To Eev. Stlyaxus Cobb, D.D. 

" My dear Sir, — I take pleasure in informing you that the 
Government of the College have this day conferred upon you the 
degree of Doctor of Divinity, in recognition of your high 
Christian character, sound Biblical Learning, and eminent ser- 
vices on behalf of the Church of Christ. 

I am, with great respect, yours truly, 

"A. A. "Miner, PmiVZen^." 

This honorable and revered title, if we can believe the 
best and most observing men of our times, was never more 
worthily bestowed, nor more eminently merited. Surely 
the recipient of the degree in this case had most emphat- 
ically and unmistakably" been proving to the world for long 
and laborious years that he was a complete master of the 
whole entire system of Divinity. Mr. Cobb accepted the 
gift with gratitude because he knew that it had been be- 
stowed as no empty title, but as a mark which he had won, 
and which he could now wear, legitimately. And his nu- 
merous friends were pleased because the conferring of the 
degi'ee upon the old and faithful pioneer was a response to 
their most earnest and devout wishes. 

And so the Theological Editor was now " Rev. Sylva- 
NTJS Cobb, D.D." 

As I approach the closing scenes of my father's life, of 
which I am to make a record that shall go down to poster- 
ity, I feel, resting solemnly upou me, the duty I owe to the 
memory of the departed, as well as to those who are to 
read what I write. I take counsel of my own heart, trust- 



500 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ing that God lias placed therein a desire and a will to deal 
justl3^ and to bear witness to the truth. 

Mr. Cobb, in his salutatory, adduced evidence to show 
that he " ought to have some experience even in the new 
position in which he was placed." 

But he was to find that no such experience had been his. 
Never before had he sat in the chair editorial with a cen- 
sorship above him other than his own conscience and his 
God. That old chair had lost its sublimity of entire inde- 
pendence, and in it now he began to feel cramped and out 
of place. He was no longer master of the situation, and 
in deploying his forces he was obliged to consult the 
movements of others, so that there might be no clashing. 
But in this result there could be no blame attached to any 
one. The very nature of the circumstances rendered it 
impossible that his position could have been else than it 
was. He was only " Theologica.l Editor." During 
nearly quarter of a century he had been general-in-chief 
of all the forces in the field ; and every movement, from 
the throwing out of a picket to guard against surprise 
from some wandering guerilla in the shape of a rum-seller 
or a slave-catcher, to an advance of the grand army 
against the main body of the enemy, had been directly 
under his supervision. No matter where he was, nor what 
was the occasion, his fancies went upon paper as they 
found birth in his brain, and thence into the columns of 
his Freeman ; and all his readers, young and old, grave 
and gay, conservative and progressive, knew just wliere to 
find him, and to whom to look for the thoughts that 
marked the character of the paper. Then he had been 
able to meet the old enemy of Orthodoxy in this quarter ; 
the foul fiend of Intemperance in that quarter ; the dark 
shadow of Infidelity in another quarter ; while other evils, 



THE MEMOIR. 



501 



great and small, he could attack at will. But novi all was 
changed. He had his department assigned him, and he 
had the privilege of writing theology to his heart's con- 
tent. 

No, no, — it was not to him a pleasant position, even 
though at times he may have tried to make himself think 
to the contrary. I know how he felt, and I know that he 
did not feel at home. The Directors of the Establishment 
did all they could to make his position a pleasant one ; 
but — the very fact that there were Directors to whom he 
was to look was in itself suflScient to annoy him. It was * 
not his Old Chair of the other years ; and it laid not in the 
power of the Directors to make it so. It was not his old 
" Christian Freeman ; Sylvanus Cobb, Editor and Pro- 
jprietor" — and all the Dh'ectors in the world could not 
have made it so, without giving up all that they had so long- 
striven for. 

It is hard to take an old general, who has led the hosts 
in a thousand battles, marching and fighting under his own 
colors, and place him upon the staff of a confederation of 
commanders, expecting him to throw heart into the work 
as he did of old ! And more especially when the veteran 
has grown gray in the service, and has reached a stage of 
life when, if ever, he must feel naturally restive under 
restraint. 

But there was no trouble — no heart-burnings nor jeal- 
ousies that ruffled the waters upon the surface. "What 
there may have been of under-currents — occasional meet- 
ing of waters setting in different directions deeper down in 
the flood — I am unable to say. All I can say is, Mr. 
Cobb retained his place as Theological Editor of the Trum- 
pet and Freeman until the Spring of 1864, and then he 
gave it up. The duties had come to wear upon him ; other 



502 



REV. SYLVAXUS CCBB^ B.D. 



matters of business were upon his hands ; his Commentary 
of the New Testament was in press ; and he felt that he 
had better take a short respite from eontinnous, pressing, 
obligatory toil. The labors of the 3- ear just past — the 
year of the writing of the Commentary — as the reader 
already knows, had been of the most wearing and exhaust- 
ive kind, and at length his own good judgment told him 
that there was a limit to his powers of endurance ; and 
that limit had been reached. He left the chair editorial 
bearing with him the best wishes of all with whom he had 
been associated ; and I know that he treasured up a just 
appreciation of the uniform kindness of his associates 
towards himself. 

Farewell, Old Chair ! In all the years to come there 
shall never sit within thy waiting arms another that can 
bring to thee a truer heart, a more genial spirit, or a pur- 
pose made more blessed in its aim for Universal Good, than 
was thine to bear in the honored person of him whose 
Memoirs I write ! 



After leaving the editorial chair Mr. Cobb continued to 
furnish theological matter for the first page of the paper, 
which had come to be called " TJie Universalist." He also 
T\Tote quite extensively for the secular press upon the cur- 
rent topics of the da.j. How could a man who had for so 
many jears been a constant observer and faithful chroni- 
cler of passing events, \sij himself away upon the shelf of 
oblivion while the nation was engaged in a might}^ struggle 
for the salvation of its very life ? — while on every hand 
were transpiring events of surpassing moment ? He could 
not do it. As well might he have thought to live without 
nourishment for the hody as without this outlet to the 



THE MEMOIR. 



503 



crowding impressions and conceptions of liis "busy brain ; 
and so, after leaving the editorial office, he passed the 
lighter results of his literary labors over to the secular 
press ; and many an old friend and admirer gained enter- 
tainment and profit from his articles in the Boston daily 
papers without knowing whence they came. In fact, he 
was in the habit of contributing occasionally^ to those same 
columns while engaged as Theological Editor of the " Uni- 
versalist,'' for there were many^ subjects connected with the 
political affairs of the country which he could kot " let 
alone," and which, at the same time, he could not with 
propriety assume to publish in a periodical of which only a 
stated and limited department was his to occupy". And in 
this connection it will not be deemed out of place for me 
to record the fact that for his labors in this latter field he 
received the personal thanks of such men as Governor 
Andrew, Senator Wilson, Gen. Banks, and* others of like 
high standing. And I also find among his papers an auto- 
gTaph letter from Abraham Lincoln, warmly thanking him 
for an able and masterly defence which he had made of the 
then contemplated Presidential policy of Emancipation. 
Hon. Hemy Wilson once remarked to the writer, — "It 
does me good to meet Mr. Cobb when I come home on a 
visit from Washington. I love to feel his warm grasp, and 
receive his cheering words of congratulation and God- 
speed." 

In addition to his literary labors, Mr. Cobb was engaged 
to some extent in the Lecturing field ; but he could not in 
these later days, do justice to himself in that department. 
A Lyceum lecture must be necessarily long, as the speaker 
generally has the whole burden of entertainment upon his 
own shoulders. And then speaking in the evening, and in 
cold weather, — for the lecture season is during the late 



504 



REV. SYLVAXUS COBB. D.D, 



Autumnal and Winter season, — was bad for Mm. Those 
who have never tried the experiment may not understand 
it. But when a man has been using his voice for an hour, 
or more, in a heated, crowded room, perhaps not properly 
ventilated, it may be supposed that his lungs and bron- 
chial tubes are somewhat excited when he gets through ; 
and it may be readily understood how liable a man is, under 
-such circumstances, to take cold if he is not very careful 
when he comes out into the cold, fresh air. And Mr. Cobb 
found difficulty in this tiresome lecturing on Winter even- 
ings, — so much so that he was forced to refuse many calls 
for his services. And here I maj^ as well speak of what 
was not known until after his death. I have spoken of 
those " colds " that had troubled him ; and he thought they 
were simple colds that broke him down so completely in 
voice on different occasions. But the autopsy revealed 
that there was nn old adhesion of the right lung to the wall 
of the thorax, in the region of the inferior angle of the 
scapula. This adhesion was so positive that over a super- 
ficies of some twenty-four square inches the substance of 
the lung w^as so firmly grown to the ribs that the point of 
adhesian was far stronger than the lung itself. So the 
reader can now understand what had troubled the man so 
much in other years, for it was very evident that the diffi- 
culty had commenced when he used to complain of those 
" stitches" in that region even while preaching in the Bath 
House. 

Still Mr. Cobb lectured considerabl}^, and to good accept- 
ance. I speak now of course, of lectures before literary 
bodies and societies. And he also made it in his way to 
address political assemblies whenever he had opportunity, 
and his services were required. Says the MiJford Journal^ 
at the close of a lengthy report of one of his lectures on 



THE MEMOIR. 



505 



" The Duty of the Citizen to the Country in the (then) Pres- 
ent Emergency " — 

"The lecture throughout, was a sound, logical, philosophical, 
patriotic production, evincing a clear historical and moral view 
of the cause, and treatment, of our present national difficulties." 

But, after all, Mr. Cobb was not what would be denom- 
inated a popular lecturer. He was not mentally constitu- 
ted for such an office. His thoughts were too ponderous, 
and his ideas too plainly practical and utilitarian. At 
times he could relate an anecdote with extreme gusto, and 
descend to light by-play and flashes of wit ; but it was not 
natural with him. When he found himself before an audi- 
ence, prepared to speak to them, he had some subject upon 
his mind, and be sure it was an important one ; and when 
he arose he had but one aim in view, and that was, to im- 
press upon the minds of his hearers the same sentiments 
and convictions that dwelt upon his own ; and to this end 
he used the plainest kind of language, moving straight on 
towards the end — never stopping to pluck flowers here ; 
to peep into a beautiful grotto there ; to pick a few berries 
from this bush ; and knock an apple or a peach from yonder 
tree. 

Mr. Cobb had his province, and no man could have filled 
it better. When people were hungering and thirsting 
for light and truth, he could satisfy them. When they 
needed to be led upward to higher and nobler walks of 
life, he could lead them ; and when they failed to perceive 
the duties that devolved upon them as children of God and 
constituent members of a Christian government, he was 
the man, fully warranted by his own practical observance 
of those duties, to " stir up their pure minds by way of 
remembrance." But when it came to catering to those 
43 



506 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



appetites which craved fun and excitement, he was not the 
man to serve them. 

The last literary labor in which Mr. Cobb was engaged 
was the preparation of his Autobiography. He had no 
periodical upon his hands in which to feel an interest ; he 
did not feel like throwing a new theological book into the 
market, — though he had the plan and groundwork for one 
all laid out,* — and he could not remain idle. What 
should he do ? His youngest sons — the Twin Brothers — 
said to him, " Write your Autobiography, and we will buy 
it and pay you a handsome sum for it." And straightway 
he went at the work ; and how much he accomplished the 
reader has seen. He was a long while in writing those 
pages. Dear Reader, could you have seen him, towards 
the end, after he had become so weak that he could with 
difficulty move from his chamber to his study, and had 
been admonished by his physicians that he must not write 
over ten minutes at any one time, you would have bowed 
your head in sadness and sorrow. You would have seen 
him, the mere shadow of his former self, struggle up from 
his chair by the window of his chamber that overlooked 
the busy harbor, and toil slowly and painfully away to his 
stud};-, where he would sink down at his desk. A few mo- 
ments of rest, and then you would have seen him grasp 
his pen and write ; but he did not write as had been his 
wont. The pen that erst had moved so glibly over the 
page, now labored heavily on, in slow, tedious, uncertain 
measure ; the marks tremulous and cramped, and the lines 
varying sadly in their course. But not long, — you would 

* Among Mr. Cobb's papers I find a somewhat elaborate arrangement made 
for a book on the " Nature of Christ." He bad collated a series of his pub- 
lished articles on that subject, and I can see how he had left the connections to 
be made for bringing them properly together. It would have been a valuable 
work had he lived to perfect it. 



THE MEMOIR. 



507 



not liave seen him labor tlius a great while. Poor, tired 
nature soon became exhausted, and, with looks so sad that 
even a c^aiic would have gazed upon the scene in pity, he 
allowed the loved pen to drop from his fingers ; and then 
back to his chamber he slowly made his toilsome way. 

It was very hard for him to give up ; but the end was at 
hand. As the ripening breath of Autumn had perfected 
the blushing fruit and the golden grain for the garners of 
the husbandmen ; and as nature, in token of coming rest, 
had donned the sere and yellow leaf for its garb, he laid 
the implements of his toil aside, and sat down to quiet 
repose. 



508 



EEF. SYLVANUS COBB, D.J). 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

Influence of the Wife, — Her Characteristics, — Cor- 
respondence, — More Heart-Treasures, — The Moth 
ER, — Mr. Cobb's Universalism, — The Purpose and 
Power of God, — The Saviour, — Rei^^i^tive Degrees 
OF Happiness in the Future State. ^ 

I NOW approach a subject which lies so near to the very 
centre of my heart that I must needs draw forth from their 
sacred repository some of the holiest sentiments and emo- 
tions of my soul for the gaze of the world. 

Mr. Cobb's life-story could not be complete without some 
allusion to that Companion who was the sharer of his joys 
and his sorrows ; the one cherished being in whom all his 
earthly love was centered ; the one who had been with him, 
to support, to cheer, to aid, and to reverence, for four-and- 
forty years. 

A man of Mr. Cobb's temperament, with loves so strong, 
and so strongly bound to his home, must have depended 
much for his success in life upon the character and disposi- 
tion of his wife. Had fortune, in the morning of his man- 
hood, bound him to a woman who could not have won and 
ever retained the whole of his confidence and esteem, he 
could not have been the man he was. Or, had he even 
taken a wife who could have failed to sympathize with him 
in all his undertakings, he could never have given to the 
world the rich results that have flowed from his labors. 



THE MEMOIR. 



509 



Mrs. Cobb, like himself, bad been educated during child- 
hood in the strictest school of Calvinistic Orthodoxy ; and, 
like himself, she had come forth into the glorious light of 
the Universalist faith through her own instincts and re- 
searches. 

Mr. Cobb could not have found a companion better suited 
to his heart and his head. In those years he had gained 
little polish, and he found in Eunice one who could prize 
him for his worth ; and while he gave to her the support of 
a stout heart, a firm will, and a strong arm, she rendered in 
return not only the priceless love of a pure and devoted 
heart, but she did much by her own native gentleness and 
delicacy of character and feeling to smooth off the rough 
edges of habit acquired upon the farm and in the rural 
school-room, and to bend his attention a little more care- 
fully to the adornments of the outer man. The world has 
seen Mr. Cobb at his work, and it has seen what he has 
accomplished ; but the world may never know how much 
of his success he owed to the influence of that gentle, faith- 
ful, true-hearted being whose every thought and aim of life 
centered in the one purpose and desire to make home pleas- 
ant and attractive to her husband and to her children. 
What would Mr. Cobb have been without the Home of 
love and true aflection ? I, who know how keenly sensitive 
he was, am able to understand that '^Clouds at Home" 
would have made him the most miserable of men. But 
God had blessed him, and ever in his Home, let the world 
without darken as it would, he was sure to find peace and 

joy. 

And no man could more fully appreciate the blessing 
than did Mr. Cobb. The reader has already seen some of 
the out pourings of his soul in this direction, and I will 
present a few more of them. The following I do not tran- 
43* 



510 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



scribe as a gem of poetical excellence and beauty, but as a 
heart-treasure, beautiful from its reflected light. If it is 
not a diamond, it is at least a mirror upon which diamond 
flashes are reflected. Mr. Cobb had bidden adieu to his 
wife preparatory to starting on a journey. As was her 
custom, founded upon a determination that, so far as lay in 
her power, he should never bear away from his home else 
than the memory of sunny smiles, she had borne up bravely 
through the parting — had kissed him and blessed him with 
a smile upon her face — and had seen him depart. And 
then, when she fully believed he had gone, she bowed her 
head and wept. But the husband had forgotten some im- 
portant matter which called him back, and he found his 
wife in tears, upon which circumstance he wrote the fol- 
lowing, — 

TO MY WIFE. 
1. 

What wsbs that crystal fountain. 

Which, on that parting day, 
In those blue eyes was gushing, 

As I had turned away ? 
It was the wife's affection ; 

It was the fount of love ; 
Pure as the love of Heaven, 

The fount of bliss above. 

2. 

What were the drops then trembling. 

Upon those lashes hung, 
Soft drops of dew resembling, 

The sunlit boughs among ? 
Bright pearls they were, most precious — 

More precious far to me 
Than gems of Orient fountains. 

And treasures of the sea. 



THE MEMOIR. 



511 



3. 

What was the light soon gleaming — 

The light which grief beguiles — 
The light whose radiant beaming 

Soon changed thy tears to smiles ? 
It was the cultured spirit. 

The philosophic mind, 
Resolved that I, when absent, 

Should memory's pleasure find. 
Resolved the image to impress 
Of pleasant, smiling cheerfulness. 

Sylvanus Cobb. 

Malden, Jan. 27, 1838. 

The following is an extract of a letter written by Mr. 
Cobb from the " Castle of Peace" to his wife who was at 
that time — September, 1841 — risiting their friends in 
his native town of Norway. Read it, and see into what 
trains of thought and reflection he was led by the absence 
of his beloved. Mark the deep, pnre love of his heart, and, 
at the same time, the instinctive religiousness of his nature. 
Such words are a sacred treasure to the lonely wife now in 
her hour of bereavement. He writes how affairs are going 
on at home — how the daughters are revealing marvellous 
powers of housewifery^, and how the boys are rugged as 
usual, and how he tries to enjoy himself and feel content 
with his children : and then he goes on, — 

" But much, very much, of life is gone, when my MiND'a com- 
panion is gone. I want no corporeal presence without the 
mind, and there is no other mind in the universe that can take 
the place of that one which has so fully mingled and assimilated 
itself with mine own. I do not mean to dethrone the blessed 
Son of Mary. The place you occupy has the smile of his appro- 
bation. Our souls are united, not by a legal ceremony, or by 
the policy of temporal convenience, but by a si)iritual union for 
eternity. When God shall have kept us together here as long 



512 



BEV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



as he has any good for our united labors to accomplish on earth, 
should you be taken hence, and raised before me to the building 
of God on high, I would still hold communion of spirit with you 
there, — I would be cheered by the smiles of your angelic love, 
and in prayerful meditation I would be often partaking of your 
joy, as you should be witnessing increasing developments of the 
Creator's wisdom, power, and goodness. Or, if I should be 
called to leave you here behind me, I would in yonder home 
commune back with your believing, hoping spirit, and have a 
special pleasure in the thought of being permitted by the Master 
to welcome you and lead you in that field of glories, when you 
should come and join me." 

******** 

" God bring you in safety to your devoted husband and loving 
children, 

"S. Cobb." 

Even then Mr. Cobb was a Christian spiritualist, as the 
reader can plainly see ; and though he lived more than 
quarter of a century after that letter was written, yet I 
believe he never made an advance in that direction beyond 
what he then professed. He early imbibed the glorious 
hopes of the gospel, and they were full to overflowing in 
their richness of spiritual gifts. It would be Impossible to 
over-estimate the love which Mr. Cobb bore his wife ; and 
never did he fail to come up in practice to what his lips 
and his pen professed. As I have said often enough, Mr. 
Cobb was not a poet ; but there were times when he had a 
strong penchant for rhyming; and this desire generally 
manifested itself in connection with his sentiments of con- 
nubial and paternal love. 

I can say that Mr. Cobb not only fully realized the 
duties required at the hands of the husband towards 
making home all that it should be, but that he also per- 
formed those duties trul}^ and faithfully. And I know that 
Ms wife did all in her power to make his home all that he 



THE MEMOIR. 



513 



would have it. Yes ; to Ms wife he owed the heaven that 
was his to enjoy upon earth. Sometimes a sense of edito- 
rial propriety may lead a man to express sentiments of 
esteem that he could not well account for in fact ; but when 
we come to his private letters, we are pretty sure to find 
his heart laid bare, especially if he be writing to one who 
possesses his entire confidence. As it is my desire to 
show how Mr. Cobb's life was influenced by the circum- 
stances of his home, I cannot do better than to quote his 
own convictions, put upon paper, at times when the emo- 
tions that stirred his soul were his only guide. And I do 
this not more to open up to view the circumstances that in- 
fluenced him, than to present a domestic picture which may 
be studied and copied with profit b}'' others. 

The following extract of a letter from Mr. Cobb to his 
wife presents another of those heart-pictures which reveal 
the inborn goodness and native grandeur of the man. 
Mrs. Cobb was at that time on a visit to her friends in 
Hallowell, and little Jimmy, then seven years of age, was 
with her. She had taken the trip not so much for her o^ 
pleasure as for recuperating the failing health of her boy : 

*' The Consecrated Castle, 
Sunday evening. 

*' Precious Wife, — I have been to meeting this afternoon, 
and heard Br. Sebastian Streeter. Since meeting I have been 
reading Prof. Stuart on" Conscience andtJie Constitution,'''' * * ! — 
and now, for a little genuine pleasure, I must turn and converse 
a while with you. 

" Well, it is lonely without you, but, after all, it is blessed to 
be AT HOME. Some how or other there is a peculiar charm in 
this spot. It seems like a paradise ; — all is peace and serenity. 
It is truly the " Castle of Peace," and the Angel of Peace has 
taken her abode here. 

•* True, there is a lack just now. When I come over from my 



514 



BEF. SYLVANUS COBB^ D.D. 



office, I cannot look up and ken from the window, or at the 
door, that countenance of countenances, beaming with the light 
of intelligence and love ; and the light tread and affectionate 
greeting and converse of that little boy Jimmy, I miss exceed- 
ingly. But I do not indulge melancholy on this account, because 
it is all calculated upon as a duty and privilege all around. 
I enjoy your company in spirit, and think how happy you .are, 
with that little star of hope by your side, greeting your old 
friends, and renewing pleasant acquaintance. 

" Wife, I have thought with a great deal of pleasure on the 
chief subject and expression of your letter you closed for me 
before you left home. Your apj^reciation of your own im- 
provements, privileges, and blessings, is to me, observant of 
the same facts, a rich source of enjoyment. But in regard to 
the few words you say of my harder lot, and the non-reception 
of deserved consideration, I take pleasure in assuring you that 
I enjoy a Christian and philosophical view of this matter. So 
far as it relates to the public in general, there is no lack of as 
much honor as my merits can claim. And with regard to cer- 
tain trials to which you refer, I decidedly feel that they were 
necessary to qualify me for a work I have to do. I clearly see 
that I have acquired qualifications by my business difficulties 
and hardships, and by the use made thereof by certain persons, 
T^hich I could not otherwise have acquired, for a work yet before 
me. You and I shall yet see and know it. And then my bur- 
dens have all along been made light by the consciousness of 
rectitude of intention ; by a firm faith in the wisdom of God's 
designs ; by the noble sentiments and kind sympathies of such 
an help meet as few, if any, other men are blessed with ; and 
also by the love and sympathy of the whole numerous home 
circle. Yes, — lam more than blessed, and doubt not that I 
shall yet be able to do more than I have yet done to render 
blessed the valued companion of my joys and sorrows. 

******* 

" I miss you very much here — more than I can tell; but yet 
I would not have you hurry home on that account. I would 
have you feel perfectly contented, and fill out the time of your 
contemplated visits. But it will be a great treat to receive you 
when you come. All the children send love to you and Jimmy. 
Squeeze him for me — the darling boy ! 

♦'Forever thine, " Sylvanus." 



THE MEMOIR. 



515 



Such was the Home of Sjdvamis Cobb — made so, in a 
great measure, by the gentle spirit of her whom he called 
Wife. 

Wife ! — Mother ! — How sweet, how pure, how blessed 
her influence ! To her husband she never spoke a word 
unbecoming her station ; and if, in the other years, she 
may have been weak and at fault at times, her faults were 
only such as bound her more closely to the heart of him 
whom she loved, in that they brought her to his stout 
bosom for strength and support. When he went forth 
from his home she gave him the memory of smiles to be 
his on his journey ; and when he returned he was sure to 
meet that same blessed smile to warm and cheer his heart. 
0, wives, what a crown of life is this ! Show me the hus- 
band who knows that when he returns to his home the 
arms of his wife will be open to receive him, with the 
warmth of smiles upon her face, and I will show to you a 
man who has a blessing above all the material wealth of 
earth. And I know that such a blessing was his whose 
Memoirs I write. 

Can I leave this subject here ? Is the story of the wife's 
influence complete until we know how she performed the 
duties of mother to his children ? Mother ! I can 
write it in a sentence. Three-and-forty jeavs have I 
borne the blessed privilege of calling her by that hal- 
lowed name ; and I can look back over all the past 
of my life, and find not in my memory one single 
look, word, or deed of hers that ever gaA'e me pain. 
During all the years of my life she never spoke to me a 
harsh word ; she never did to me a pain-imparting deed ; 
and she never gave me to feel that she had a fault laid up 
in her memor3^ against me. And yet God knows her heart 
has ached man}^ a time and oft. Did I say she had never 



516 



REV. STLVANCfS COBB, D.D. 



in deed given me pain? O, when I remember how she 
has taken me to her bosom and imprinted a tearful kiss 
where many another would have placed a blow, I can call 
to mind pangs of most exquisite pain. But they were such 
pangs as the redeemed may feel when they remember how 
they have crucified their Saviour. And in all those years 
I can remember well how she has sought to lead my mind 
and my affections up to Christ and God. To my father I 
owe much, — as much as mortal child ever owed to an 
earthly parent, — but to my mother I owe more than life. 
But enough. Within the depths of my own heart let my 
most sacred memories of my mother rest. They are mine, — 
not the world's. Mine to bless and cheer with emotions 
akin to heavenly bliss while life shall last ! 

Such a Mother could not but make a happy home for her 
husband. Such a mother could not but command the con- 
fidence of the father ; and so was the man doubly blessed 
ni the possession. Not only to her could he look for all 
the jo3^s the blessed love and constancy and purity of a 
wife can give, but to her could he also with unwavering 
confidence look for that mild and gentle influence made up 
of all the Christian graces, which should be safe and 
healthful guidance for his children. He realized it all ; 
and he was happj^ ! 

At the commencement of these memoirs I had thought 
of giving a full chapter to a consideration of the subject of 
Mr. Cobb's Universalism ; that is, its kind and character. 
But no such space will be necessary. The reader who has 
read thus far must have gathered already'' a pretty thorough 
idea of the character of the Universalism which Mr. Cobb 
professed. But I will say a few words, to give in brief, the 
essential points of his doctrine. 



THE MEMOIR, 



517 



He believed that God had a Plan in view when he 
created the world, and placed upon it children of his own, 
after his own image ; and he believed that that Plan, per- 
fected, was to redound to God's glory and honor. He 
believed, furthermore, that God entered upon the work 
with the intent and purpose of securing his own happiness 
in the grand consummation. And, further still, he believed 
that God intended, when he created man, to make this 
mortal immortal in joy and bliss, to partake with himself 
of perfection. 

He believed that God had the Power to accomplish that 
which he had planned. He did not believe that in the very 
outset, — that in the very first stroke of labor upon the 
highest object of his creation — God made a woful blunder 
which was to convulse the whole creation with disorder and 
confoundment. He did not believe that the Power to 
create was put in operation without the Wisdom so to con- 
trive that the original Plan should be perfected. No, — he 
believed that God had not only the wisdom to plan, and 
the power to create, but also the power to accomplish all 
that he undertook. 

He believed that, in time, as had been appointed from 
the beginning, God sent his Son Jesus Christ upon the 
earth to be a teacher unto his people, and, literally, a 
Saviour, — a Saviour from sin. And he believed that the 
coming of Christ was a part of the great original Plan, — 
one of the instrumentalities by which man was to be led to 
the Father. He believed that Christ was sent to do a 
certain share of the work ; that he was sent by One who 
knew the work he should do, and wlio endowed him with 
full power to consummate it. So God was in Christ, re- 
deeming the world to himself. 

He believed that now, upon the coming of Christ, the 
44 



518 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



whole Gospel Scheme was revealed in its beauty and gran- 
deur. That Scheme did not contemplate a partial doing 
of the work of redemption ; but it contemplated an entire 
and thorough consummation. Upon the professed Chris- 
tian who should have declared that the Father only con- 
templated the saving of a part of his children through the 
mission of his Son Mr. Cobb would have looked with pity 
and commiseration ; and upon the professed Christian who 
should have declared that God and Christ combined could 
not accomplish all they desired he would have gazed with 
sorrow and amazement. 

Mr. Cobb believed that all would be accomplished just 
exactly as God had planned that it should be accomplished, 
when, in the morning of creation, he stretched forth his 
hand to commence the work. And since a Being of Infinite 
Wisdom and Love had laid the plan, he believed that that 
plan must look to a consummation of Universal joy and 
blessedness, so that the Father himself might be blessed in 
the perfection of his works. And since a Being of Infinite 
Power had taken the plan in hand, he believed the end 
would be accomplished. 

And so Mr. Cobb was a Universalist. 

There is an important point upon which there is diversity 
of opinion among even the clergymen of the Universalist 
denomination. That is : How shall men be raised ? With 
what sort of spirits shall the}' enter upon the higher life ? Or, 
how far may the circumstances of the earthly life aflfect the 
entrance upon the heavenly ? 

In the first place, Mr. Cobb could not believe in any- 
thing like punishment in the higher state, because that 
would involve the necessity of sin there ; since a just and 
merciful God would not inflict punishment after the child 
had lost the desire and capacity to sin. In the second 



THE MEMOIR. 



519 



place, he did not believe that there could be any degrees 
of nearness to the Father established by the Father himself, 
whatever might result from the various abilities of individ- 
uals to comprehend the value and glory of Godlike charac- 
ter. In short, he believed that all would be raised in a 
state of happiness — of happiness to them perfect in itself, 
and as refined a:nd extensive as they were capable of enjoy- 
ing ; but, as he believed in eternal progression, of course 
he admitted that there were grades of bliss-imparting knowl- 
edge to be gained, and still gained, by the wisest and the 
best. 

For instance : The poor inebriate, sunk in the very low- 
est depths of vice and debauchery — his lips profane, and 
his every word a curse — his frame shattered, and his soul 
a wreck — his home dark, drear, and desolate, and his wife 
and children crashed and broken-hearted. See that man, 
at midnight, reeling forth from the tavern, so beastly drunk 
that his senses are gone, and his limbs refuse their office. 
Out into the stormy night he staggers, and after struggling 
a while in his uncertain way, he sinks by the wayside — 
sinks, he knows not where — and his stupor holds him there 
upon the cold, wet earth until morning. Suppose that poor 
wretch had died during that night of storm and exposure — 
suppose in that drunken state he had passed from earth to 
another world — what would have been his condition there ? 
Here is opportunity for difference of opinion. What would 
God have done with that poor, wayward, misguided soul ? 
Different clergymen might give you different answers. 

But mark ! In the morning the wretched man awakens 
from his stupor, and at lengtli he sits up and gazes around. 
Behold where his struggling instinct — perhaps some kind 
guardian spirit — had led him. In the dim grey light of 
morning he sees a white slab of marble, and upon it the 



520 ItEV. STLVANUS COBBy D.D. 

name of her who first on earth had pressed him to her 
bosom and loved him. He had slept his drunken sleep 
upon his mother's grave ! Who shair picture the emotions 
that stirred that suffering soul ? There is no need. Suffice 
it to say that he arose from that spot, after prayer and 
supplication, with the solemn vow sent up to God, through 
the spirit of his sainted mother, that he would henceforth 
be all that a true man, as husband and father and citizen, 
should be. And then he went to his home, and told to his 
wife and his children the story of his night's adventure, and 
told to them what he had done. And he asked them to be 
kind to him, and to trust him once more, and love him.* 
What was the wife's answer to that appeal ? Did she hold 
her husband off, and tell him that his joy must not com- 
mence quite yet? Or was heaven opened upon that house- 
hold in that hour, and joy ecstatic their portion? How 
long was it before that man sent forth from his deepest soul 
a prayer of praise and blessing? 

And would God have been less kind than was this poor 
stricken wife, who had suffered so much at the husband's 
cruel hand ? And would Heaven have been less fraught 
with blessed influence than was that man's earthly home 
of poverty and want ? 

So much from my own pen by way of showing how Mr. 
Cobb regarded the sinner's entrance into Heaven. But 
how is it with the sentient Scoffer and Atheist? Here is 
an extract from one of Mr. Cobb's " Rambling Cogita- 
tions " which is to the point : — 

"Imagine, now, that our philosopher, whom, for the sake of 
convenience, we will call Cyrus, having passed from earth into 
the spirit land, witnesses the entrance there of one who, on 



* An actual occurrence within the writer's own knowledge. And the man thus 
saved was instrumental in saving many others. 



THE MEMOIR. 



521 



earth, and to the close of life, was an Atheist, and a sensualist. 
Cj^rus is astounded to see that once atheistic sinner glowing 
with the inspiration of sublime and elevating thought, as he 
knows the blessed truth of life from the dead, and the being and 
glory of God, and most of those glorious truths which the gos- 
pel reveals to the believing soul on earth. And as he looks, and 
beholds, and meditates, and admires, he breaks out into a song 
of praise and prayer, — * O God, from whose love I have been 
alienated through the ignorance that was in me, thy wonderful 
working has dissipated that dai'kness, and I know that thou art! 
And life immortal, which my dark soul could not anticipate, O, 
gracious God, thou hast given it to me, and I shall congratulate 
the loved of earth, whom I had supposed to be lost in utter 
death. I am full of humble thankfulness ! Father, accept the 
humble gift, myself to thee, through Jesus Christ my Lord. O, 
guide me evermore, in this boundless field of glories.' 

'"Hold, hold! exclaims the critical philosopher in heaven. 
You, Mr. Atheist, are making naught of my philosophy. Visible 
to you as is the being of God, and thrilling to you as is the fact 
of immortal life, and the infinite grace of your Father in 
heaven, you must be an atheist, and a sensualist, and a scoffer, 
for a season, here in this world of spirit life, and heavenly 
glory.' And he lifts up his voice in supplication, ' Lord, if thou 
wilt vindicate thine own honor, and my philosophy, exert thine 
''arbitrary''^ force upon this repentant and loving soul, and 
quench his joy, and silence his praise, and compel him to remain 
a decent term of years, in the darkness of atheism, and the hell 
of sensualism.' 

" Then appears the Son of God, and he kindly instructs the 
upbraiding philosopher. 'Cyrus,' says the Master, 'I have 
somewhat to say to thee.'' And he said, Master, say on. 
* There was a certain creditor which had two debtors ; the one 
owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they 
had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, 
therefore, which of them will love him most?' And Cyrus 
answered and said, ' I suppose that he to whom he forgave 
most.' And he said unto him, ' Thou hast rightly judged.' And 
then the philosopher bowed with reverence to the Master, and 
cheerfully joined with the converted atheist, born into the spirit 
44* 



522 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



life, mingling souls in praise to God who giveth such gifts to 
men." 

To sum up the whole in a very few words, Mr. Cobb was 
entirely and practically a Universalist ; and the hopes 
which he held for himself he held for every son and daugh- 
ter of Adam. Prayer he held to be a solemn duty and a 
blessed privilege ; and through all his life ; for himself and 
for others ; in weal, or in woe ; when the heavens opened 
with brightest promise, or when clouds and storm were 
upon him ; he could look trustingly and confidingly up to 
his Father in Heaven, and devoutly pray — " Thy will be 
DONE 1 " 



TRE MEMOIR. 



523 



CHAPTER XIX. 

CoNCLUDiNa Summary of Character, — His Powers as a 
Writer and as a Speaker, — His Position in the 
Denomination, — His Closing Hours, — Sickness and 
Struggles, — "I haye tried to be a Faithful Ser- 
vant OF the Lord ! " — The New Life. 

Dear Reader, — Surely there can be need that I should 
say but little more concerning Mr. Cobb's general charac- 
teristics and habits. It has been my aim in the foregoing 
pages to present the various features and points of his 
character as the course of his active life has developed 
them. It is sometimes the custom of the biographer to 
devote a large space towards the close of the work to an 
estimate of the various qualities — intellectual, social, 
moral, and religious — of his subject ; but I trust the 
reader, who has travelled with me thus far, is able, at this 
stage, to make the full estimate for himself. In fact, I 
stated in the commencement much that I intended to show 
in the Memoir ; and now the question is. Have I shown it ? 
I can only answer, — I have so striven. 

As I desire to present in these pages a few of the esti- 
mates which others have expressed concerning Mr. Cobb's 
peculiar traits and powers, there is no need that I should 
occupy space with any further analysis of those points. I 
think it has been most conclusively shown that the subject 
of our Memoir was a man of wondrous power, and with 
tongue or pen he was equally able to impress his thoughts 



524 



ItEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



upon the minds of others. He never arose to speak, nor 
did he sit down to write, until he had mastered his sub- 
ject, and as he never uttered a word of support save in 
behalf of what he sincerely believed to be right, nor a word 
of condemnation save against that which in the very 
depth of his moral sentiment he believed to be wrong, it 
was not an easy matter to overcome him in argument. 

No man could have possessed more fully the confidence 
and esteem of a denomination than did Mr. Cobb. Wher- 
ever he had preached, and was known, he was looked up to 
as a teacher and a father ; and from him his friends were 
always willing to receive counsel and instruction. His 
words were not only eagerly listened to, but they were 
treasured up for use and application. And especially was 
this the case towards the close of his life, after he had left 
the Chair Editorial. Then, when his thoughts came no 
longer forth from week to week, the brethren of the house- 
hold of faith were glad when they had opportunity to gain 
lessons of wisdom from his lips. 

And this is the boy we have seen sitting by the old 
kitchen fire-place, away off in a new and wild country, 
studying his lessons by the light of the blazing logs. This 
is the bo}^ who asked his father for a grammar, and was 
told in reply that such a thing would be of no use to Mm! 
This is the boy who had the will to improve ; who had the 
courage ever to do right ; who never shrank from maintain- 
ing that right, let the opposition come from what source it 
might ; who commenced life with the deter minatiou, set 
foremost in every thought and plan, to be a Man ; and 
who pursued his purpose boldly, steadily, and industri- 
ously, to the end. All that he was he owed to his God 
and his own endeavors ; and his life is well worth the 
studying and imitating by the youth of our land. 



THE MEMOIR. 



525 



After leaving the editorial chair he became engaged in a 
somewhat extensive and important business which required 
his occasional attendance at the office of the company in 
New York, and he continued to attend to the publishing and 
sale of his books, and to the business of the company, with- 
out experiencing any difficulty which he was willing to ac- 
knowledge as such, until the Spring of 1866. On the last 
of April he went, alone, on business to Pennsylvania ; and I 
find entered in my mother's diary the following, under date 
of ''''Sunday^ May 6t7i, — My dear husband returned this 
morning safe and happy. He came from New York last 
evening in the Stonington boat. He stood his journey well, 
and appears very well and strong." On the 20th he preached 
in Canton, as the reader has already been informed, and 
returned rather better, he thought, " of a cold that had been 
troubling him for some time " ! But on the next day after 
his return — the 22d — his wife's diary bears record that 
the preaching must have been bad for him, for his cold is 
worse." On the last day of the month was held the Uni- 
versalist " Conference and Prayer Meeting," which Mr. 
Cobb was very anxious to attend, but his weakness forbade. 
On the following day he sent a note to Rev. A. A. Miner, 
bearing words of cheer and blessing to the brethren ; and 
at the close thereof he writes : " By God's favor my health 
is improving. I trust he has yet some good for me to do 
in co-operation with you all." He could not believe that his 
health was failing ; and yet at that very season his wife was 
continually praying — and I read the prayers in her diary 
— " O God ! in mercy spare him unto me ! " 

After the first of June Dr. Cobb sank rapidly, and very low ; 
and it was now that Dr. Thorndike, a phj'sician whose judg- 
ment and skill are of the very highest standard, and whose 
diagnosis based upon external symptoms, is about as sure 



526 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



as are the facts revealed by an autopsy, came in and made 
a critical and thorough examination. He decided that there 
was a most emphatic hypertrophy of the heart! He not 
onl}^ found sjanptoms of an enlargement of the heart, but 
he also decided that there must be trouble with one, or 
more, of the valves. It was hard to believe this — very hard. 
Might there not be some mistake ? But the doctor shook 
his head. The disease was there, and the most that could 
be done was, if possible, to lift the sj'stem over it for a 
w^hile longer. And to that end such medications and invig- 
orating agents were given as would be likely to overcome 
the teudenc}^ to inefficient nutrition ; and after a time Mr. 
Cobb rallied. Other medical counsel was sought to consult 
with Dr. Thorndike, and the opinion was put forth by one 
who stands high in the profession, that there was no organic 
disease of the heart. This gave the sufferer gi*eat hope ; 
but it could not save him. His regularly attending phj^si- 
cian. Dr. T., knew very well what was the matter, and pre- 
scribed accordingly. During the months of August and 
September Mr. Cobb visited the city-proper several times, 
not only attending to business at his office, but visiting the 
Publishing House and conversing with the brethren there 
assembled ; and occasionally on these visits, some theme 
would be brought into discussion that served to draw a 
little of the old fire from his soul. Towards the latter part 
of September he had so far regained his strength that he 
planned a visit to New York, and then he was coming down 
to visit the home of the writer, in his native town of Nor- 
way ; and he wrote to me, making me acquainted with his 
plan. 

On the first day of October, in company with his wife, 
and with the consent of his physician, but with many ad- 
monitions from this latter personage, he went to New York, 



THE MEMOIR. 



527 



transacting some business there, and also visiting Ms twin 
sons in Newark. He reached home on the fifth of the 
month, trying to make himself believe that he had sustained 
no great fatigue ; and on the following day he wrote to me 
that he should be with me on the next Wednesday. But 
when I received his letter, and marked the tremulousness 
of the hand in the straying, straggling, struggling words, I 
said to my wife : " My father will not come ! " 

And so it proved. The frame was shattered and sinking, 
and its strength was once more departing. On the 9th of 
this month of October he bade his wife to write that he 
could not come then ; but that he would come next June, 
when all was beautiful and fresh in our pleasant country 
abode. On the morning of the 12th he went over to the 
city ; but the effort was exhausting ; and he went not from 
his home again in the flesh ! 

After that, he complained of sleepless nights, and of 
painful unrest. Opiates were resorted to, but with little 
effect. Mr. Cobb held them in horror, dreading the result 
of their continuance to the forming of habit. From this 
time he grew worse, and the symptoms were alarming. It 
was evident to his medical attendants that he could not 
again revive. His distress increased ; he gained no rest 
in recuperative sleep ; and the system was slowly and 
surely sinking. On the 21st, he was assisted to the dining- 
room, where he sat down to dinner with the famil}^ This 
was on Sunday. In his old accustomed seat at the board, 
in accents grown weak and faltering, but with spirit as 
strong in hope and faith as ever, he raised his voice in 
prayer and supplication, not forgetting to return thanks to 
the Giver of all good for the manifold blessings he had so 
long enjoyed. That old familiar custom of prayer ! He 
never omitted it for a day at his home wher he was there. 



528 



REV. STLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



The custom of almost half a century. His prayer ascended 
from the old place on that holy Sabbath daj^, and he never 
sat at that board again ! 

How fondly we cherish the memory of the incidents of 
those last days ! Adjoining his chamber was the apart- 
ment of his daughter Hale}^, where, when able, he would go 
for social converse with those who might be assembled 
there. He bent his tottering steps to her room on the 
25th, and gazed once more out upon the green carpet that 
yet covered the beautiful inclosure of Belmont, gazed off 
upon the distant walls and spires of the great city, and 
then returned to his chamber, — returned to come not forth 
again until the angel should come to give him conduct to 
that sphere where pain and unrest are known no more for- 
ever. 

After this, he became aware that his end was approach- 
ing, though he refrained from speaking of dying. There 
was something peculiar in his course in this respect. In 
all his conversation upon the subject he avoided the least 
allusion to death as an earthly change, and would listen to 
no remarks bent in that direction. Thoughts upon what 
the world calls Death, with its accompaniment of " dark 
rivers," and " silent tombs," did not seem to occupy his 
mind ; but, all the while, fully conscious that the end was 
approaching, and calmlj^ willing to prepare his business 
therefor, his everj'' expression gave token of coming fi-om 
one who saw only the gates of Eternal Day invitingly open 
before him. 

To him there may have been no such thing as dying. I 
have thought that he did not so regard the change which 
he knew was at hand. He had seen his darling Jimmy, 
and he promised that he would tell what he had said to 
him ; but he was weak then, and put it off to another time. 



THE MEMOIR, 



529 



Yes, he had thought only of passing out from that weak, 
broken body into the realm of the bright Unseen. He 
may have wondered if there would be much pain in the 
rending of soul and body ; and he may have shrank from 
talking of that event which men call death, but which to 
him was only an approaching severing of bonds that had 
become weighty and burdensome. 

That such were Mr. Cobb's ideas of death may be seen 
by the following beautiful poem, clipped from a periodical, 
and placed by him in his wife's diary but a few days before 
his depai'ture, and which she found, as he probably in- 
tended she should, after he had walked 

"That starry stairway 

Leading to Jehovah's throne : " 

"I SHALL NOT DIE, BUT LIVE. 

" Tell me not, ye cold-eyed mortals. 
Tell me not, ye souls of gloom, 
That Death comes a midnight monster. 
Blasting every earthly bloom ; 
Though the clasp of death be icy, 
Willingly this frame I'll give, 
For a Saviour's voice hath told mo 
That ' I shall not die, but live.' 

" No, I ■will not dress in mourning 
All the golden gifts of God, 
Hope shall shed her sunbeams o'er me, 
Faith shall be my staff and rod. 
Death shall be a beauteous angel, 
And thrice blest this earthly goal ; 
Death but buries up the body, 
Life entombs the living soul. 

" When my days on earth are numbered. 
Weep not where my dust is sown, 
I shall walk the starry stairway 
Leading to Jehovah's throne. 
Have I not the glorious promise ? 
Christ arose, and I believe ; 

45 



530 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.T). 



Oh, I thank thee, Holy Father, 
That ' I shall not die, but live. ' " 

Never, in all his pulpit exercises, did more beautiful and 
inspiring prayers ascend from his lips than were uttered by 
him while he lay upon that djdng bed. On one occasion 
he prayed with a fervor and power that seemed the offspring 
of more than ordinary strength of body and mind. 

In giving an account of the closing scenes, I cannot do 
better than copj^ the following extracts of a letter from my 
sister Haley, who, through all her father's sickness, was as 
an attendant angel of mercy by his side, ever ready to 
answer his slightest wish ; anticipating his graver needs ; 
and taking no thought of comfort to self while she could 
render the slightest service to the sufferer. These offices 
she shared with her mother ; and to that dear mother, also, 
in her seasons of greatest alarm and fear, she was a messen- 
ger of peace and hope. God will bless that faithful child 
for all she has done of good in that household. Little 
Jimmy fell asleep upon Haley's bosom ; and our precious 
Sarah, during all her long sickness, found an attending 
angel in that same sweet sister ! Ah, Haley, are not the 
richest- rewards that earth can give, or that Heaven can 
bestow upon the child of earth, already thine ! 

As will be seen by these extracts, even while the strug- 
gling spirit was bursting its bonds of earth, the loving 
daughter fancied the earth-life was gaining new hold upon 
its shattered tabernacle of clay. The letter was written 
somewhat in the form of a diary, and to me it was the 
bearer of blessed lessons : — 

"Castle of Peace, 
"October 29, 1866. 
"My Darling Brother, — Knowing how anxionsly you 
must watch for tidings of our precious father, I steal from his 
room to talk a while with you. 



THE MEMOIR. 



531 



*' Since Saturday father's mind has wandered much of the time. 
He has had brief intervals of consciousness, but his senses are 
mostly prone to this wandering state, caused, the doctor says, 
by the water having reached the brain. 

'* Yesterday was a blessed day to us all, and I would that you 
could have been with us. Father seemed in much closer com- 
munion with Heaven than with earth. Peaceful, trustful, and 
hajDpy, he converted his bed of suffering into an altar of prayer 
and praise. N"ow he would be engaged in prayer — then preach- 
ing to a congregation from the text : — ' O that men would 
praise the Lord for his goodness, and for his wonderful works to 
the children of men ; ' and, in tones of pathetic sweetness, he 
repeated nearly the whole of Psalm CVII. At night, when I 
took his tea to him, he thought himself surrounded by the Broth- 
ren, and would not taste his tea until I had assured him that the 
Brethren were all provided for ; and, then, not a sip would he 
take until he had lifted up his voice in prayer and thankfulness 
to God for mercies received ; as you and T, Vaney, have been 
wont to hear him for so many years when seated at that old 
family table. 

" Last night, for the first time since father's illness, we per- 
suaded mother to leave him to take her rest. We insisted upon 
this, knowing that she could not endure constant watching ; and 
father needs the bright and cheerful face of his ' Guardian 
Angel,' as he terms her, and which she truly is to him. So La 
Fay watched with our dear one, who passed a restless night, 
sleeping but little, so great was his labor for breath. 

" This afternoon, as I stood by father's bedside, he looked up 
with a light upon his countenance that seemed almost divine, 
and, with yearning earnestness he said, — 

*' * I HAVE TRIED TO BE A FAITHFUL SERVANT OF THE LORD ! ' 

**Eben and Jennie have been over to-day. Father's face 
lighted up when he saw Jennie ; and when Eben went to the 
bedside, father took both his hands in his, and held them for two 
or three moments in perfect silence, his eyes lifted Heaven- 
ward, as though giving a father's last blessing to his boy. It 
was a touching scene upon which we all looked with tear-filled 
eyes. 



532 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, B.B. 



" Tuesday eve., oOtJi. Last night George watched with our 
precious father, who passed quite a comfortable night. To-day 
the labor for breath has been more severe, but the dear one is 
easier to-night. We thought this noon of telegraphing for you 
and the twins ; but he seems much better again. The doctor 
says he is no worse ; and though he gives us no hope of his re- 
covery, we cannot help thinking that the Supreme Father may 
spare him to us yet a while longer. 

"This morning when Tucker came in before leaving for the 
city, father, for the first time, failed to recognize him ; but he 
soon rallied from this state, and when, towards noon, Uncle 
Samuel Locke, who came over to see him, entered his room, he 
knew him at once, and greeted him with his accustomed cor- 
diality. Br. White also called this noon ; he recognized him at 
once, and after greeting him, said, ' You remember what I said 
to you last spring, when you called on me, Br. White ? ' (This 
was an exhortation for him to be faithful to his trust as a minis- 
ter of the blessed Gospel.) This afternoon his mind has been 
wandering most of the time, but always on pleasant themes. 
Now he was back in the pulpit, with an audience before him, 
preaching as of old; anon he was holding argument with a 
doubter of his faith ; then gradually he seemed to come nearer 
and nearer to his Lord, and his voice was tuned to prayer and 
praise. 'All-Wise and merciful Father!'' 'Most Beneficent and 
kind!'' And then — * All-Loving Father ! '' ' Thou who ever shieldest 
thy feeble flocks upon thy Loving Bosom ! ' Tlien a pause, and — 
' So Infinite in goodness and ' 

*' Here his voice failed him, and he sank into a short slumber. 
When he next aroused himself he was back amid the scenes of 
his boyhood; now upon the farm; now felling trees; then at 
school spelling h-u-t, hut, t-e-r, ter, butter, — n-u-t, nut, — butter- 
nut ; and then he took up his Latin conjugation. After this he 
sank once more into unconsciousness, and when he next spoke, 
his words were all of one accord, betraying nearness to God. 
There was really no wandering, and yet no sense of earthly 
things. His mind seemed already soaring away from the body, 
and grasping Heavenly beauties. 0, Vaney, sweet and inspiring 
were these disconnected utterances, welling up from our father's 
soul ; a soul filled with spiritual power. 

'* But I must leave you now and go to father. George will 



THE MEMOIR. 



533 



sleep in the Green Room, within call. I am to sit with father 

until twelve, when La Fay will take my place. I will close this 

in the morning. God grant I may come with cheering tidings 

of our father. Good-night. God bless and keep you. 

******* 

^'Wednesday morning, ^Ist — Father labored much for breath 
during the first part of the night ; but when I left him, at Twelve, 
he seemed rather more comfortable. Between Three and Four, 
mother, who could not sleep, joined La Fay in his watching ; 
and, as she sat by the side of the loved one, his hand in hers, 
his struggles for breath gradually grew less, and she deemed 
him better. When I went in at six o'clock, he looked up and 
sweetly smiled, but could not speak. I noticed a cold sweat 
upon his brow, but dreamed not that the end was so nigh. 
When the others went down to breakfast I had some warm water 
sent up, thinking that bathing his head might soothe him, as this 
was something he had enjoyed all through his sickness ; and it 
had never failed to quiet him. For nearly a half hour I bathed 
that noble brow ; rejoicing that it was soothing him into so sweet 
and peaceful a sleep, little thinking it was to be that sleep that 
knows no waking upon earth. And when George came uj) for 
me to go to breakfast, I joined our mother with a lighter heart; 
and told her that father had fallen into a sweet sleep and seemed 
really better. At this intelligence the anxious clouds were lifted 
from her dear face, and with a bright, hopeful smile she left me 
to go back to him, who was so much more to her than all tlie 
world beside. 

******* 

*' With love, as ever, 

" Thine aflfectionate sister, 

" Haley." 

And so once again the wife's hopes were raised, and the 
cloud of anxiet}^ was lifted from her brow by the thought 
that she might enjoy the blessed companionship of the 
loved one yet a while longer upon earth. She hastened 
back to her precious charge, the new-born hope whispering 
sweet music to her soul ; but, alas ! those notes of promise 
were to faint and fail in mournful cadence. As she entered 
46* 



534 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the chamber she found the dear one lying as if in quiet, 
peaceful repose, and before taking her seat again in the old 
place, where he could rest his weakening hand in her tender 
grasp, she bent over and imprinted a kiss upon his lips, — 
but there was no response. No response ! — the first time 
in all those years he had failed to return that tender token. 
But he must have recognized the presence of that beloved 
companion ; for a sweet, trustful smile came over his 
features — a smile which left its holy impress there while 
that mortal form was exposed to human gaze. And that 
smile was the only token of recognition. The wife gazed 
a few moments, and then sent her son, George Winslow, 
to call Haley, for she knew that the end was at hand. 

Haley came into the chamber, and she and George stood 
by their mother's side. A solemn stillness dwelt upon the 
air, and they broke it not even by a whisper. They recog- 
nized, as from the impress of the presence itself, that a 
Messenger from the Unseen was with them, and the thought 
filled them with an emotion so overpowering and inefiable, 
that they could not have spoken if they would. He who 
had suflered so much lay now so quiet and so calm that it 
seemed like the falling to sleep of an infant upon its 
mother's bosom. There was no motion — - no movement 
of any feature ; but the eyes were lightly closed, and the 
lips fixed as though with some purpose of will, — only the 
light of that smile still lingered around them. The breath- 
ing was low and faint, — lower and fainter yet, — until at 
length the soft, sighing cadence died away upon the quiet 
air, and a shadow flitted over the calm and tranquil face, 
as of angel wings that had come in between that face and 
the light. 

I love to think that on that October morning Jimmy and 
Sarah took our father by the hand, and led him forth to the 
New and Better Life ! 



TBE MEMOIR, 



535 



CHAPTER XX. 

Obituaries of the Press, — The Funeral, — Memorial 
Services, — A Tribute from A. St. John Chambre, — 
Letter of Dr. J. V. C. Smith, — Conclusion. 

Notice of the death of Dr. Cobb was taken by the press 
generally throughout the country, and the spirit which 
marked the obituaries was of one character. There is no 
need that I should occupy space here in transcribing them. 
I will only give a few, to show the general tone of feeling. 

The following is from Rev. Dr. I. D. Williamson, of the 
''Star in the West'': — 

"DEATH OF DR. COBB. 

" It is our painful duty to announce that our old and beloved 
friend and brother, Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, D.D., died at his resi- 
dence in Boston, on Wednesday morning, Oct. 31st. Thus, 
another of the fathers in our Israel has fallen, and we that 
remain, are warned that the time of our departure is at hand. 
We first met Br. Cobb in 1828, and from that time to the day of 
his death we have known and loved him. He was then in the 
strength and prime of his manhood. With a herculean frame, 
and a massive brain to match, he was a man of commanding 
presence, and one who looked upon him would be apt to think 
that he was as well able as any man to defy the assaults of time. 
The last time we met him was in Boston, in 1864. Thirty and 
six years had passed since we first met, and though the marks 
of age were apparent, yet ' his eye was not dim nor his natural 
force abated,' and we thought he had a good chance for a quar- 
ter of a century more of life upon the earth. But he has gone 



536 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



the way of all the earth, and it is a comfort to know that he 
lived not in vain. He fought a good fight and kept the faith, and 
served his day and generation well and truly. He was a man of 
great kindness of heart and spotless purity of life. He has left 
his testimony behind him in several able and valuable works, 
among which his Notes on the New Testament is most promi- 
nent. If he had done nothing but produce that work, his fame 
as a clear thinker and sound theological writer would have been 
secured. He was characterized rather by strength and solidity 
of thought, than by elegance of style or brilliancy of rhetoric. 
His logic was compact and strong as iron, and it behooved the 
man who engaged in controversy with him, to look well to his 
premises and conclusions. His life from his earliest manhood 
was consecrated to the cause he so much loved, and for it he 
labored with tireless industry through a long series of years. 
Few men, we think, have done more good, and few would be 
more widely or deeply mourned." 

The next is from the " Boston Daily Transcripts'^ as fol- 
lows : — 

'* Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, D. D., well known as a distinguished 
clergyman of the Universalist denomination, died this morning 
at his residence in Webster Street, East Boston, in the sixty- 
ninth year of his age. Dr. Cobb was a man of vigorous powers, 
which age did not impair. His mind remained always fresh, 
because his heart was in everything he did. He was widely 
known for his polemical earnestness and ability, holding the posi- 
tion of a champion as well as confessor of the Universalist 
faith. In politics and reform his place was among the most 
advanced liberals. His acquirements were as solid as his nature 
was ardent, and his earnest expressions of feeling and opinion 
always carried with them an intellectual weight. He will be 
mourned by thousands in New England, to whom his resolute 
yet kindly face, his intrepid bearing, and his resounding tones 
have for years been familiar." 

The following is from the Saturday Evening Gazette^** 
of Boston ; — 



THE MEMOIR. 



537 



"Liberal Christianity has lost a zealous and able defender by 
the death of Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, which occurred at his resi- 
dence in East Boston on Wednesday, Oct. 31, at the age of 
sixty-eight. As preacher, author, and editor, he labored sedu- 
lously and intelligently for the advancement of his denomination, 
and was rewarded by seeing it arise out of its persecution and 
weakness to be a power in the land. As a polemic he was a 
man to be feared by a contestant ; for, armed with the simple 
truth of the gospel he loved and preached, and aided by tihe 
strength of a vigorous intellect, there Avere none who could con- 
trovert his positions. This was proved in the celebrated Hudson 
and Adams discussions, which are printed, and form most 
excellent volumes of his printed works. He never, however, 
forfeited the respect of opponents by any departure from the 
rules of fair controversy, though there were cases where they 
were less kind to him. Though a zealous contestant, he was 
kind and generous, and manifested towards all the charity he 
professed. His ability as a theologian is evinced in his Com- 
mentary^ on the New Testament, his last and grandest work, a 
monument to his erudition and his industry. As a preacher, he 
was earnest and impressive, holding his hearers in the deepest 
interest, and, though not what the world calls eloquent, while 
he had the fervor of youth and in his matured intellect, he stood 
in the foremost ranks of his denomination. Styles changed ; he 
was no longer wanted as a controvertist, where, indeed, the 
denomination itself had advanced farther than he, and he left 
the field to others, doing little latterly beyond literary labors. 
He was a zealous Temperance man, and was interested in most 
of the Reform movements of the day, busying himself in all 
good works, which will miss his support. We have known him 
long as a kind friend, always ready with a pleasant word of 
encouragement ; and though the death of a good man at a ripe 
age is no cause for grief, we heard of his departure with sincere 
regret." 

I have many more notices at hand, but there is no need 
of giving them here. Dr. Saywer, of the " Ambassador 
gave an extended obituary, worthy alike of his subject and 
of his own great heart ; and he may take to himself the 



538 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



assurance that his kind words of respect for the dead, and 
sympathy for the living, have called upon him blessings 
from the bereaved. 

And so of the others who have offered their generous 
tributes of consolation. They will be remembered and 
blessed. 

The funeral services were held on Monday, November 
5th. As on the occasions of the burial of Jimmy and 
Sarah, there were no badges of mourning worn by any of 
the family. It had been Mr. Cobb's earnest desire that no 
such dark and, to him, unpleasant regalia should ever come 
in to add external gloom and shadow to the occasion of 
the passing away of any member of the household. He 
held it as the relic of times when Death was regarded as 
the most awful and calamitous fate that could befall human- 
ity, and as a custom which the glorious light of the Blessed 
Gospel should banish from the Christian World. But he 
urged nothing of this upon others. He respected the feel- 
ings of all who honestly felt the need of outward trappings 
of mourning ; but for himself he wanted them not. 

The following, from the " Universalist," gives a full ac- 
count of the funeral services : — 

FUNERAL OF DR. COBB. 

' ' The funeral services of our late brother in the ministry, and 
honored Father in our Israel, Rev. Sylvanus Cobb, D.D., were 
held, agreeably to the announcement made in our last, in the 
School Street church on Monday. At 12 o'clock, there were 
brief services at the house of the deceased in East Boston, a 
prayer being offered by Rev. A. St. John Chambre. 

" The church was promptly filled at the hour of 1, save the 
seats kept in reservation for the family, the relatives and the 
clergy. At 1^ o'clock the coffin containing the body was 
brought in and placed on a bier in front of the pulj)it ; the scats 
that had been reserved were occupied ; and, in every part, the 



THE MEMOIR. 539 

house was filled. The plaintive notes of the organ, breaking the 
solemn stillness, were a fitting prelude to the rites that were to 
follow. 

" Rev. J- Boyden offered a fervent Invocation ; after which, 
the pastor of the East Boston Society, Rev. C. J. White, read a 
selection of Scripture. A part of this selection was the 107th 
Psalm, and was read at the request of the bereaved w'idow. This 
Psalm contains the passages which our late brother so frequently 
repeated, in his half-unconscious state, the Sunday before his 
death. This circumstance was stated in explanation of the 
request that this Psalm should be included in The Selection. 

"Rev. T. J. Greenwood next read the very appropriate hymn, 
beginning, — 

" I looked upon tlie righteous man, 
And saw his parting breath, 
Without a struggle or a sigh, 
Serenely yield to death." 

' ' The hymn was sung by the choir of the church, conducted 
by Mr. Ball. Following the hymn came 

Dr. Miner's Address. 

" The address was highly eulogistic; but every point of ex- 
cellence, as it was named, instantly commanded the assent of all 
w^ho had known the departed. Dr. Miner's opening remark 
was, that the current of human life is flowing on to bear us to 
our rest. We cannot note every rill that goes to swell the cur- 
rent. Occasionally, one of larger magnitude commands especial 
attention. When, in the providence of God, one passes away 
who was gifted with extraordinary powers of mind, with an 
unusual degTee of the Christian qualities, and who has faithfully 
used the opportunities for great influence, we are compelled to 
pause, and pass in review the gifts that have wrought with such 
effect. The late Sylvanus Cobb was such a man. Born in the 
town of IsTorway, in the State of Maine, he breathed in his early 
youth the atmosphere that nurtures a noble ambition. From 
the first, he felt the call to be of service to others ; and his first 
public career was that of instructing youth. The next step was 
to him a natural one — into the Christian ministry. His settle- 



540 



liEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



ment in Maiden, in 1828, was at a time of peculiar trial for a 
minister of the Keconciliation. The ten years of his pastoral 
labor there are especially noted as a controversial era. The 
current hostility to the doctrines of Universalism, always strong, 
then raged with especial vigor. The Maiden pastor did not find, 
and he had not sought, a position of ease. But he was equal to 
the conflict, and he did his duty valiantly. Allusion was made to 
his brief settlement at Waltham, and also in East Boston. He 
did not long continue in the pastoral office. He had undertaken 
the herculean task of establishing a weekly journal in a field in 
some measure pre-occupied. For years he labored against dis- 
couragements of no ordinary magnitude. His financial resour- 
ces were small. His investments in real estate were not such as 
practical business men pronounced wise. What means he pos- 
sessed were not at his command; and financial revolutions 
brought him unlooked-for embarrassments. But he never failed 
to pay an obligation when the means for so doing were in his 
possession. Nor did he, while claims were resting upon him, 
squander in reckless luxury. He was never guilty of any in- 
difference in regard to his obligations, nor of any conduct which 
Christian criticism would condemn. Under all circumstances, 
he retained the confidence and the respect of the community. 

"What was the style of Dr. Cobb's faith? What was the 
quality of his thought ? What was it that gave him peculiar 
power as a teacher of Christian truth ? He recognized in God a 
Father ; and interpreting the character of the Divine paternity, 
in the light of the paternal affection which was so strong and so 
noticeable in his own heart, he saw in the Divine administration 
a Paternal Government. He could not believe anything possible 
in the administration of the Divine Kuler that did not accord 
with this fundamental conviction. Hence his mind saw Divine 
justice always tempered with mercy. He could not fail to see 
that such a government embraced the world. And he lived to 
see a great change wrought in public sentiment by the patri- 
archal ministers, of whom he was one. And with them, he saw 
in prospect the coming world accomplishing for human souls 
what cannot be accomplished under the shadows of the present. 
He saw in the life beyond the grave the soul relieved of many 
burdens, and the veil removed that now hides the Divine pres- 
ence. But he did not trouble himself with any question of in- 



THE MEMOIR. 



541 



stantaneous change. In reality, he saw but one world, having 
indeed its various phases. 

"Dr. Cobb's faith at once assumed the most practical form. 
It was not in his nature to cherish a cold faith. It warmed into 
practical application, and made him active in doing good. It 
shone forth in the cause of temperance ; and he did a large share 
of the work that established the great principles which have since 
got embodied into law. He was early among the earnest men 
who worked in the anti-slavery movement. Wherever he 
preached, he assailed the wrong. In the pulpit, and through 
the columns of his paper, he was the steady defender of liberty. 
And the older he grew, the more earnest and the more uncom- 
promising was his devotion to freedom. 

*' Though not what is technically called a learned man, in all 
that pertained to his professional labors he was truly and pro- 
foundly learned. He was always thorough and persevering in 
mastering all the points involved in any work he undertook. His 
profound and accurate researches were exhibited in his * Dis- 
cussions.' In his controversy with one of the ablest and most 
cultured divines of Boston, we never had occasion to fear the 
result. We all knew that the work was in safe hands. All the 
points were handled with care. And if an impartial jury could 
sit upon the Calviuistic dogmas that were tested in that discus- 
sion, the verdict would be, 'Died of the hard blows dealt by the 
hands of Sylvanus Cobb.' To the young who would get a 
knowledge of the essentials of Christian doctrine, Dr. Miner 
said he could commend no book with more confidence than 
Cobb's ' Compend of Divinity.' His most valuable work was 
his last — his ' Commentary on the aSTcAV Testament,' which was 
pronounced philosophical, clear, comiDrehensive. Dr. Cobb's 
mind was always massive ; it moved Mith a weight that would 
not admit of resistance. Such a character must be persevering. 
His spirit was as indomitable as truth itself. If difficulties came, 
he bore himself above them, Nothing could crush him. 

*' Dr. Cobb was the friend of young men. He could criticise 
the young preacher with great severity ; and yet treat him with 
the greatest magnanimity, and make him feel that he was his 
friend. It is not strange that such a man has the confidence and 
the sympathy of his seniors — Ballon, Streeter, and Balfour. 

" It was not claimed that Dr. Cobb was faultless. Faults he 
46 



542 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



doubtless had. But the great jDurpose of his life rose above 
them, and it was never tarnished by them. 

"The central principle in the character of Dr. Cobb was his 
deep religiousness. No worldly difficulties ever impaired this. 
Under any and all circumstances, if there were occasion to elicit 
his thoughts, his uppermost thought was sure to have regard for 
the honor and the glory of God. While his mind wandered, his 
lips repeated the w^ords * that men would praise the Lord for 
his goodness, and for his wonderful works to the children of 
men.' Not many in health and comfort and prosperity feel like 
saying this. How few, in the hour of adversity, of weakness, 
and of pain, are ready to utter the words ! But here was one 
broken in body, prostrate on the bed of disease, and only wait- 
ing for his departure ; and he sees this truth, and he testifies to 
the infinite goodness of God ! 

*' Dr. Miner concluded with a feeling address to the mourners, 
and also to the ministers. Could we compare the present with 
the future, as we can the present with the past, the great work 
accomplished by Dr. Cobb and his co-laborers would be full of 
encouragement ; and would exhort us to persevere in confidence 
and in hope. 

-OEIGINAL HYMN. 

"Following the address, Dr. Paige read, and the choir sang, 
the following hymn, written for the occasion by Mrs. P. A. 
Hanaford : — 

" Go to thy rest, man of God ! on high, 

With those who bore the burden and the heat 
Of bygone days, when Truth, that could not die, 
Burned on your lips and guided all your feet. 

" We mourn thine absence from familiar ways, 

But high and pure the paths which thou hast trod; 
We hope to follow till we meet and praise 
With thee and thine before the throne of God. 

"Long will thy name be cherished 'mid the ranks 
Of those who teach our God's undying love. 
While evermore we bow with rev'rent thanks. 
And ask for grace to follow thee above. 



\ 

THE MEMOIR. 



543 



" Go to thy place amid the radiant host, — 

We mourn thy loss from earth with tears to-day, 
Yet they who knew thee best and loved thee most 
Say not, ' Return,' but ' Speed thee on thy way ! ' 

" Rise to thy place beside the valiant few 

AVho boundless grace proclaimed in days gone by ; 
The crown is thine; the victor's palm thy due, 
And thine the welcome where no more we die. 

" A prayer was then offered by the former pastor in East 
Boston — Rev. A. St. John Chambre. This part of the service 
seems hardly a proper one for comment. We may say that 
while it was comprehensive, it appeared to be an inspiration of 
the solemn scene. 

"The anthem, 'Rest, Spirit, Rest,' sung by the choir, con- 
cluded the service. All who desired to take a last view of the 
face that in life was so familiar, had the privilege granted ; and 
nearly all felt the invitation to be a f)rivilege. Then all that was 
mortal of Sylvanus Cobb was borne to the last resting-place. 
The remains were conveyed to Woodlawn Cemetery, the follow- 
ing gentlemen acting as pall-bearers: Rev. R. H. Neale, D.D., 
Hon. Richard Frothingham, Rev. J. M. Usher, Rev. J. G. 
Adams, Deacon Caverly of the Shawmut Avenue Church, and 
Deacon Kendall of East Boston. At the grave a solemn prayer 
was offered by Rev. A. J. Patterson ; and the last respects to the 
earthly remains of a faithful minister of the ]!s"ew Testament, 
were paid. Peace to the ashes of the worthy dead! " 

Memorial services were held in many places. In Maiden, 
Rev. T. J. Greenwood preached an eloquent sermon on the 
subject of Dr. Cobb's life and death. In L^mn a sermon 
was preached by Rev. Mr. Biddle. In the town of Nor- 
waj^, Mr. Cobb's native place, Rev. N. Gunnison preached 
an able and trathful discourse in memory of the deceased. 
In Marlboro' a memorial discourse was preached by Rev. 
W. A. Start ; and one in Waltham by Rev. Benton Smith. 



544 



EEV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.V. 



There were other memorial services ; but I have not been 
sufficiently informed to make a note of them. 

The following, from the pen of one who was long a mem- 
ber of Mr. Cobb's family, I present with emotions of deep- 
est love and gratitude. Passing over the few words spoken 
of myself, which I know were dictated by a brother's love 
for one who always loved and honored him, I have to thank 
him for the generous, and yet, I firmly believe, true and 
just, estimate of my father's character : 

"Stoughton, Mass., 
" Dec. 8, 1866. 

*' My dear Bro. Cobb : — I have been informed that you are 
to complete the memoir of your father. I rejoice to hear this, 
for I know the work will be done well and lovingly. 

"When your father died, one of my first thoughts was, who 
will write his life ? I remembered that he had been for some 
time engaged in the preparation of his autobiography. But had 
he completed it ? If not, who would ? My mind turned to you, 
for I felt sure that you, better than could any other person, would 
accomplish the labor of love. I hope you will be eminently suc- 
cessful, and that we may have the result at an early day. I am 
very anxious to read the events connected with his early life, 
and to know more of the circumstances and conditions that com- 
bined to produce the noble, Christian character I loved so well. 
Many others are equally anxious. I believe the volume you 
will give us will be highly prized, not only by the ministry, but 
also the laity of our denomination. Our whole 'Household of 
Faith' looked up to the doctor as to a ' father in Israel,' and 
mourned when he was stricken from the ranks of the living. A 
sadness fell upon us all when his soul passed on to God. But 
he went up higher. He rests from his labors, and his works 
abide after him. 

"Very few have I known so strong of intellect, so firm of 
faith, so warm of heart, and so faithful to Christian truth and 
duty, as was he. But he has finished his course ! He kept the 



THE MEMOIR. 



545 



faith. And now he has been taken to receive the crown of 
righteousness reserved for him. 

" Some thirteen years I have known your father intimately — 
probably as intimately as any one not a member of his own 
family circle. Of this j^ou are well aware. I was his Pastor for 
a time. During a year of my early ministry I lived with him ; 
and again was of his family another year after leaving the army. 
I think I may say I was one of his friends ; I know he was one 
of mine. During all the years I have known him my esteem 
and love for him strengthened ; for, always he was the same, — 
always the gentle-hearted Christian, the affectionate husband 
and father, the true and sound theologian, the earnest servant 
of Jesus Christ. 

" It has often been said that what a man is, will be most fully 
shown in his own family. There is much truth in this statement. 
In the privacy of home, if anywhere, a man's real character will 
stand revealed. If we judge Dr. Cobb accordingly, the very 
highest eulogium may be pronounced upon his life. In his fiimily 
he was all that could possibly be desired. A stranger meeting him 
upon the street, and beholding his large physical frame, and mark- 
ing his deeply-thoughtful countenance, might perhaps wonder 
if he could be social and genial. But no one could be long in his 
home, and not discover that none could be more so. There, what 
he actually was did really make itself manifest. He was always 
genial and social — always happy. I never knew him to be 
otherwise. No one in his house was made uncomfortable or 
unhappy by him. At morning, at noon, and at night, he was 
the same good, pleasant, Christian gentleman. 

" In this connection I recall what I consider an evidence of high 
Christian attainment and rare kindness of heart — that I never 
heard him speak an uncharitable word of any one. Nor was 
this because he was indifferent to wrong. None could be more 
severe than he sometimes was in the condemnation and denun- 
ciation of evil, no matter by whom <;ommitted. And his indig- 
nation against wrong was freely expressed in the presence of 
the wrong-doer. But for individuals he had a large charity. 
Of them he always spoke in words of affectionate tenderness, 
or, at the most, refrained from speaking at all. 

*' Of his sj^mpathy with, and active interest in, young ministers, 
many can bear warm and grateful testimony. He seemed to 



546 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



know how to meet them, and how to treat them. He was 
peculiarly happy in this regard. So far as my own experience 
is concerned, he was the first and only ' father ' in the ministry, 
who, when I entered, a very young man, into the Denomina- 
tion, somewhat physically enfeebled and exceedingly weary in 
mind from having passed through the shadow of a great trial, 
took me by the hand, treated me Avith perfect confidence, invited 
me to his house, and interested himself in my behalf. The 
friendship then formed lasted always, and was as fresh and 
hearty at the day of his death as when we first became ac- 
quainted. What he was to me he was also to many others. 

" As a Theologian, the Doctor is to be ranked among the very 
ablest. With his strong and comprehensive intellectual powers 
he swept the whole field of Bible truths, apprehended clearly 
the relations of Christian doctrines and ethics, and resolved 
them into a Compend of Divinity, which for clearness and con- 
sistency stands unrivalled. But he was not merely a cold critic 
of the Sacred Scriptures. He accepted them as the oracles of 
God, undoubtingly, and from strong conviction, and he felt the 
power of the truths they enunciated. He had a warm religious 
feeling that bathed all his theological opinions and efforts as with 
the light and love of the world's Redeemer. As a Universalist, 
all his powers were for long years consecrated to his faith. He 
loved it, and was willing always to labor to the utmost for its 
triumph. How well and successfully he labored, you will 
undoubtedly fully unfold to us. Nor was his faith simpl}^ the- 
oretical ; it was practical and devotional. He was religious in 
his family, not less than in his public ministrations. The morn- 
ing and evening prayer went ever up to the throne of the Father ; 
and it was a prayer that embraced not only the near, but also 
the far-off. He was truly Catholic. 

"And yet intensely denominational. He was jealous for the 
good name and fame of our Zion. He desired its foundations to 
be laid deep and broad, and was anxious that upon them should 
be reared a glorious superstructure. Other foundation than 
Jesus Christ he would not acknowledge, and upon the cap-stone 
of our Temple he would inscribe only * Grace, grace unto it ! ' 
Nor was he willing that we should enter into any entangling 
alliance or association with others. He felt that the Universal- 
ist Denomination had earned, through sharp trials and manifold 



\ 



THE MEMOIE. 647 

tribulations, the right to be ; that it had accomplished, under 
God, of itself, a great work, and had still a greater before it, 
which, if faithful to itself, it would surely consummate. To his 
mind, the world was large enough, and the opportunities suffi- 
cient, for the existence and labors of all branches of the general 
church. He would bid them all ' God speed ' so far as they 
worked righteousness, and held aloft the cross of Calvary. But 
he would not yield our name, nor tarnish our glory, nor lower 
our banner. He thought, and acted upon the thought, that our 
Denomination should do its own work in its own way. Pres- 
tige, popularity, fashion, were nothing to him — only the truth 
as it is in Christ Jesus, the faith of Abraham, and Isaac, and 
Jacob, that in the fulness of time all souls should be redeemed, 
and the Lord God be all in all. 

" I can at least speak for myself of the Doctor as a sermon- 
izer. I delighted to hear him preach. To say that his sermons 
were sound and logical, would not be enough. They were com- 
plete in form and detail. They shone with the brightness of the 
truth of the Gospel, and glowed with the warmth of religious 
emotion. They compelled thought; and if they did not always 
convince the opposer, they certainly made him feel that the 
speaker was eminently sincere and earnest. 

"He was indefatigable in his literary labors. In the year 
1863-4, which I spent at his house, he was engaged in his last 
and best work, the Commentary on the New Testament. Day 
after day, and far into the nights, and in the mornings before 
breakfast, he labored upon that book, during the entire year. I 
am sure that that ceaseless labor hastened his end. But as 
though he felt that his years were few on the earth, and that he 
must work while the day lasted, he would listen to no objec- 
tions, and persevered until it was completed. He wrote that 
book with his life. He literally coined his physical and mental 
powers into its pages. 

"But! must not weary you longer. Indeed, I fear I have 
written at too great length already. Much more, however, 
might be truthfully said of the Doctor. But you will gather 
it all. 

" I remember that to err is human. Perfection belongs only 
to Divinity. Your father would not claim perfection for himself. 
Nevertheless, his Christian attainments were great ; and few 



548 



BEV. SJLVANUS COBB, B.D. 



have been more thoroughly and steadily devoted to the religion 
of our Lord and Saviour. 

" His family and his friends grieve for him, for he is not on 
earth. God has taken him ! The Denomination will cherish his 
memory with kindliest feelings. 

"Let me assure you of our profoundest sympathy in the great 
affliction which has fallen upon you. My prayer is, that the ■ 
father's mantle may fall upon the ' first-born.' 

" As ever, truly your friend, 

*' A. St. John CHAMBRi}. 

" Sylvanus Cocb, Jr., 

'■'Norway, Maine. • 

*' Our kindest love to yourself, your family, and your mother. 

The following, from one whose warm and enduring 
friendship the family are proud to own, was received by 
the stricken wife with feelings of peculiar joy and grati- 
tude. It shows not only the ready and impulsive sympa- 
thy of the writer, but it serves to give further proof of the 
general respect and esteem in which the memory of the 
departed is held : — 

'♦JSTew York, Nov. 4th, 1866. 

** My dear Mrs. Cobb : — 

"The death of your excellent husband, which has been an- 
nounced in the papers of this city, really gave me a shock, as 
the intelligence was a melancholy surprise. But he was an 
eminently good man, and the influence of his disciplined and 
cultivated mind will long be remembered by those who had the 
honor of his acquaintance, or enjoyed his special friendship. 

"In expressing my heartfelt sympathy for you and your 
family in this sad bereavement, I know so well your strong 
preparations for meeting all the contingencies of life, I have no 
doubt of the calmness of your expression, and the dignity of 
your thoughts, in this domestic woe and mental agony. 

"It is a great source of comfort to have entire confidence in 



THE MEMOIR. 



549 



the aiTangements of Divine Providence ; and in believing that 
our ultimate happiness is designed, however difficult it may be 
for us to understand the laws by which such results are ulti- 
mately accomplished. 

*' In the active, comprehensive, thinking life which the Kev. 
Mr. Cobb invariably led, I have no idea he was conscious of the 
high place he held in the public mind. But the press every- 
where speaks out of the purity of his character, and deplores 
his loss. 

"A reputation like his, so pure, unsullied, and open-hearted, 
is a better legacy to his children, and a far richer dowry for you, 
than houses or lands. No one can rob you of his good name. 
Allow me, therefore, to congratulate you and your family, in 
knowing the fact, as you must, that Mr. Cobb commanded the 
respect of all good people while living, and his death is consid- 
ered a public misfortune. What a treasure ! 

*'Some one of the sons should at once commence a prepara- 
tion of a full memoir of their father. It would not only be a 
lasting monument of their affection for one whose very name, 
unconnected with his authoritative writings, is an honor to 
them ; but it would subserve the interests of virtue, temperance, 
religion, and humanity. 

"My heart is fall of sorrow in regard to this painful event; 
and yet I see very clearly how his biographer may vastly enlarge 
the sphere in which the principles of our deceased friend may 
reach thousands upon thousands who never heard the sound of 
his voice. 

" Accept for yourself and your children my sympathies, my 
affectionate regards, and continue to believe me your friend in 
adversity as well as in prosperity, 

"J. V. C. Smith. 

"Mrs. Sylvanus Cobb, 

''East Boston, Mass.'''' 

And thus we close the record of a good man's life. If 
we count that life by years, we shall find that he lived very 
near to the allotted age of man ; but if we count it by its 
labors, then we shall admit that he lived to a ripe old age. 



550 



REV. SYLVANUS COBB, D.D. 



What more I have to say cannot be better said than in the 
• words which I addressed to niy sister in a familiar letter 
shortly after our dear father had been born into the higher 
life. The following is a part of the letter referred to : — 

"Sister Mine, — Death has some valuable lessons for those 
children of earth who are willing to study for improvement. 
My father liviDg never had such influence over me as he has had 
since he burst the bonds of earth. Living, my father never 
looked to me so grand and noble as he looked to me in his last 
sleep. My pen cannot picture the emotions with which I looked 
upon that placid brow. The stern warrior reposed upon his 
laurels, and the seal of the true life was set even upon that 
emblem of mortality. There lay the form we had called 
Father, and about it, with a radiance almost divine, were clus- 
tered the results of his life-long labors, — results dwelling in our 
knowledge, and manifest to thousands upon thousands of his 
fellow-beings. I gazed upon the lips that had been first to utter 
the blessed words of God's glorious Truth to hosts of the 
anxious, doubting children of men — lips that never knowingly 
uttered falsehood — never wittingly bore upon their breath 
words of ill to any human being! — lips that could thunder 
invective against sin, or whisper the soft, sweet music of love to 
the listening ear of friends and companions. I gazed upon the 
once stalwart frame that had borne so much of toil and labor ; 
I saw it worn and wasted in the strife until its strength was 
gone, and its energies departed forever. And I asked myself, 
For whom had he labored .^^ Never for self — never, never ! On 
all the earth there never lived and died a man who had more 
truly and practically performed an unselfish work of love and 
good-will, seeking for self only such reward as he could lay up 
in heaven. It is no stretch of truth to say that our father never 
gave room to a coldly selfish thought in his soul. Of how many 
men, in his position, can this be said I thought of this as I 
stood and gazed upon that shattered and tenantless tabernacle. 

" At first I could have wished that our father might have been 
able to leave more of this world's goods behind him. But for 
what should he have left them ? Not for his children, surely. 
The best energies of his life had been given to them, and great 
to them has been the benefit — a benefit which must continue to 



THE MEMOIR. 



551 



work to them for good while they live. To his children he had 
given while he lived, and, dymg, he has left to them such treas- 
ures of mental and moral worth as all the gold of a Croesus could 
not purchase. By his kindness and tender care, and by his 
energy and well-directed efforts, he had seen them all started 
upon the voyage of life — started with an hundredfold more 
advantages than were his when he launched his bark for that 
same voyage. Xo, no, — we could not surely wish that he had 
done more for his children. God knows he has done enough ; 
and to-day those children have reason to bless God for the rich 
inheritance derived from their father. For my part, with grate- 
ful heart, and voice attuned to blessing, I thank him for the 
priceless wealth he has bestowed upon me, — a wealth which is 
mine forever, and which the courts of men cannot wrest from 
me. 

" Should he have left more for our mother ? God forbid ! Has 
he not stamped his image upon his children, and left them all to 
Ylqv? O, my soul ! how many mothers are left so well provided 
for as is she who blesses us with her love ? Ah, not many. 
Could our own dear mother be now in want, then might we say 
that our father had labored and toiled without just reward ; but 
it is not so. The old " Castle " is hers — that glorious old roof- 
tree where our loves have been centered so long. But, had she 
even been left without a farthing of this world's wealth in her 
own right, she would still have found herself rich in all that can 
make life pleasant and comfortable. My sister, I think our 
mother need not fear to gather up her jewels and compare them 
with the treasures of earth's most favored children. 

"i^'o, no, — there is nothing to regret; but everything to be 
thankful for. There is nothing to be added to the sum of the 
good man's life, and there is nothing in his record that I would 
expunge. Once more, moved thereto from the depths of my 
innermost heart, I join hands with you, my darling sister, and 
give promise that, so far as God shall give me strength, I will 
be to our mother a joy and a blessing while her dear life is 
spared to us. Kiss her for me, and say to her — ' God bless my 
Mother ! ' 

Stlvanus, Jr." 
And so I might have written to every member of that 



552 



BEV. SYLVANVS COBB, D.D. 



family circle. The faith which sustained the father, and 
which he had labored to extend to others, he had not failed 
to bestow upon his children; and, in this season of 
bereavement, it is sufficient for them. They all love it, 
and hold it very near to their hearts. Over the household, 
when gathered together in sweet communion, the angel of 
peace holds watch and ward ; for, into that union of souls 
in faith, the creeds of men can intrude no discordant ele- 
ments. 

Dear Reader, one word with 3^ou before I lay aside my 
pen. These pages have cost me many a waking, toiling 
hour that should have been given to sleep ; for they have 
been written with other duties crowding hard upon me ; but 
it has been to me, nevertheless, a work of joy and profit. 
I have enjoyed a nearness to the loved one that has kept 
warm my heart ; and there has been rich profit in the val- 
uable lessons presented, as I have dwelt upon the record of 
his useful life. And if, in addition to this, I have in these 
pages set down anything that shall interest and instruct 
my readers, so that they shall thank me for the work I have 
done, then I shall be doubly blessed. 

And in the hope that this rich reward may be mine, I 
leave this book with you. I have tried to tell the simple 
truth — no more — no less. Farewell, each and all. If 
we meet never more on earth, we may, in God's own time, 
meet in that better world, where he whose memory we 
honor has found sweet rest from his toil. 



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